‘Very Demure’ Trans TikTok Creator Didn’t File To Trademark Catchphrase, But Someone Else Did

The trans-identifying TikTok creator who spurred the viral trend of saying “very demure” is now upset that someone else trademarked the saying first.

Jools Lebron started posting clips featuring the “very demure, very mindful, very cutesy” narration that’s taken social media by storm. Big-name celebrities have gotten on board, and even the White House tested out the phrase.

“Cancelling [sic] the student debt of nearly 5 million Americans through various actions. Very mindful. Very demure,” an X post shared on August 16 said alongside a smiling photo of President Joe Biden.

Lebron, a biological man, has since racked up more than 2 million followers and said any earnings would be used for his “transition” surgery.

“I was playing cashier and making videos on my break, and now I’m flying across the country to host events, and I’m going to be able to finance the rest of my transition,” Lebron said in response to detractors.

Now the TikTok influencer is upset that a man named Jefferson Bates filed an application in Washington to trademark the expression, “Very Demure .. Very Mindful …,” per NBC News.

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Lebron posted about the situation in a now-deleted update shared on social media. “I wanted to do so much for my family and provide for my transition, and I just feel like I dropped the ball,” Lebron said over the weekend. 

This spurred another person, Raluca Pop, to file for a trademark to one of Lebron’s other phrases, “Very Demure Very Cutesy.” Pop did this with the intention of transferring it to Lebron at a later date.  

NBC noted that both Pop and Bates’ applications are still pending.

Pop reportedly saw Lebron as “the one that created it and popularized [the phrase]. Like, she should be the one to reap the benefits.” 

Pop added, “And once I saw that this other guy tried to steal it out from under her, I realized that he didn’t trademark the remainder of her phrase, ‘very cutesy.’ And that’s when I went and I did it, instead.”

On Tuesday Lebron posted on TikTok again about the situation, saying only that it was “handled” and that there was a “team” of people dealing with it.

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Celebrities from Jennifer Lopez to Reese Witherspoon have used the phrase “very demure” to promote current projects. Lebron has also partnered with brands like Verizon and Lyft and appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week.

The original clip was shared on TikTok in early August. It shows Lebron applying makeup while narrating the process.

“You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure, very mindful. I don’t do too much. I’m very mindful while I’m at work. See how I look very presentable? A lot of you girls go to the interview, looking like Marge Simpson, and go to the job looking like Patty and Selma, not demure,” Lebron said.