TikTok has a unique way of bringing lustful ‘normies’ and weebs together, for better and for worse — and this time, One Piece was involved. Lately, the person uniting two fronts of the TikTok userbase is someone who’s becoming known as the “hot Houthi Pirate.”
As the title immediately suggests, this sudden influencer is a Houthi Pirate, who became an overnight sensation after he posted a video of himself in a boat, proudly holding the Yemeni flag. Not long after, he was interviewed on Twitch by none other than Hasan – everyone’s favorite political streamer with the highest amount of haters possible – becoming the hot topic for the day.
At this point, you’re probably wondering exactly what he has to do with One Piece — aside from all the pirate analogies in his new online alias, that is. And that’s exactly what I’m here to clarify.
Who is the Hot Houthi Pirate on Tiktok?
The now-known “hot Houthi Pirate” on TikTok is a Yemeni man who allegedly is part of the Houthi movement — a military organization that emerged in Yemen in the 1990s. Through his TikTok and Instagram accounts, the man has often shared videos and images of his endeavors in the Red Sea, amidst a high-tension conflict.
While this may not seem interesting enough to warrant such newfound attention for the man, it all changed on January 17 when he uploaded a video displaying the Yemeni flag, and the algorithm did its thing. The comments were immediately and understandably flooded with compliments, as more and more people became absolutely enthralled by this man’s good looks.
After many people noticed he was often aboard sea vessels, he fittingly earned the title of “Hot Houthi Pirate.” Comments such as, “I don’t understand what you’re saying, but you’re really handsome, and I support all your endeavors,” flooded the comment section. Another user exclaimed, “You’re so hot!! Your actions make you hotter!! So brave!! A real man.”
How is the Hot Houthin Pirate connected to One Piece?
Apart from the evident connection between these two ‘pirates’, it turns out that the Houthi man is a devoted One Piece fan. During Hasan’s interview on Twitch, the streamer broached the topic of One Piece, asking if the man was familiar with the anime, particularly given the striking parallels between the Houthi pirate and the Straw Hats.
As a translator facilitated the conversation, relaying the question to the man, he promptly affirmed that he had been watching One Piece since his childhood. Hasan, in an excited response, drew a comparison between the actions of the Houthis and how that would be exactly what “Luffy would do.”
https://t.co/Dk4PWRAavu pic.twitter.com/QBON3Wvrew
— Psychedelic Socialist (@Acid_Communist) January 17, 2024
Throughout the One Piece series, pirates are often branded as the scourge of the seas, to be eradicated at any cost. In light of this, Hasan aptly drew a parallel between the Straw Hats, who are some of the World Government’s biggest opponents, and the Houthis, who were recently designated as a terror group by the U.S. Recently, the Houthis conducted an attack on Western ships after the U.S . and the U.K. launched a series of airstrikes on Yemen.
This comparison might seem absurd for many people watching these events happen in real-time, however, One Piece is a highly political forward anime and manga, often deriving its storylines from real-life events — past and present. It doesn’t come as entirely surprising that Hasan, who is a known One Piece fan, would quickly conduct a direct comparison between the Houthis and the Straw Hats.