Big Freedia Sets Guinness World Record for Most People Twerking (But Not Really)

UPDATE: Big Freedia DID NOT set the World Record for Most People Twerking Simultaneously. According to The Gothamist:

Yesterday when the Guinness Book declared that Big Freedia and her crowd of 358 twerkers were now the title holders of the largest group twerk in history, they were LYING. In fact, in comparison to the actual biggest group twerk, basically no one twerked yesterday, as the biggest group twerk included 1,945 attendees (who were at this year’s Teen Choice Awards). This record was verified by the lesser known but equally unimportant RecordSetter.com.

Oops.

Original story below.


Today hundreds of people gathered in New York City’s Herald Square to help New Orleans-based recording artist Big Freedia set the Guinness World Record for Most People Twerking Simultaneously.

The rules, announced by a Guinness judge at the venue, were:

1. There needed to be a minimum of 250 people to set the record
2. Body must remain upright, with movement concentrated in hips
3. Participants can put hands on knees or hips for support
4. Twerking action cannot come from knees – hips only
5. Freestyling or additional choreography not permitted – no hands on the ground, feet in the air, twirling, etc.
6. Twerking action must be synchronized, can be at own pace
7. All participants must twerk simultaneously for two minutes when Big Freedia gives the signal
8. Any performers who do not participate fully for the entire two minutes will be deducted from the final total

big freedia, twerk, guiness

The crowd was easily over 250 and Big Freedia got them in a twerking mood by twerking on stage to dance club music, which she described as “bounce” music.

While it may be nothing extraodinairy compared to other Guinness records, it does solidify “twerking” into world culture.