A clip from the the the new Elvis biopic coming out later this month has gone viral on TikTok, but not in the way that advertisers had hoped. This week, the film’s official TikTok account shared a 10-second clip of Austin Butler giving a monologue as Elvis Presley, and commenters have been roasting his performance. In spite of early praise from critics and from Presley’s family, many commenters felt that Butler missed the mark.
The official Elvis TikTok account posted a clip of Butler in character talking to another person behind the Hollywood sign about his career trajectory. He goes from sitting to standing as he reflects on how the nation reacted to his rise to fame. The caption includes the hashtag “Duet This,” so the studio clearly hoped that this soundbite would take off on TikTok and provide some organic hype for the movie. Unfortunately, commenters do not seem interested.
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“I’m sorry I just don’t see him as Elvis, I see Austin Butler with black hair,” one person wrote. Another added: “Unfortunately this actor does not look like Elvis Presley,” while a third wrote: “From all the Elvis impersonators. I mean Vegas! They got him?” Similar comments wondered if Butler was the right choice for this role, or if this clip was the right choice for a promotional video.
The comments are especially surprising given the response to the movie so far. Many critics have already seen Elvis and given it a respectable 77 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Even mixed or negative reviews have tended to point out Butler’s performance as one of the highlights of the film. On top of that, Butler has been praised by the late Presley’s family, including his granddaughter, actress Riley Keough.
“One of the most remarkable parts to me about [Elvis] that people may not know (because he’s done such a fantastic job) is that [Austin Butler] is singing all of the early Elvis vocals himself,” she wrote on Instagram. Her mother, Priscilla Presley wrote her own post last month which said: “I’mjust returning from the Cannes Film Festival. Baz Luhrmann’s film, Elvis received a 12-minute standing ovation. There was not an empty seat in the large theatre including the balcony. From my understanding, It was the longest ovation ever received for a film. Actor Austin Butler’s performance as Elvis was mesmerizing.”
For better or worse, fans will have to see this movie for themselves to make up their minds. Elvis premieres on Friday, June 24 in theaters around the U.S.
