VIDEO: JD Eats Tinned Fish During TikTok Trends Discussion

Move over Alix Earle, there’s a new TikTok star on the rise — Stern Show staffer JD Harmeyer.

On Wednesday morning, Howard and co-host Robin Quivers discussed some of the peculiar yet extremely popular trends on the social media platform. With over 91 million views, #tinnedfish encourages creators to eat pungent fish out of a can and comment on the experience. Howard decided to test the hashtag out by having JD eat a can of sardines and talk about it in real time. “Let’s put it up on TikTok and see how many views we get,” he suggested. “It’s got to go viral.”

Before chowing down on $40 worth of hand de-boned and skinned sardines imported from Portugal, JD struggled to read what was on the can “I don’t know what the hell this says,” the staffer complained shortly before spilling fish oil all over the studio floor.

Upon his first bite, JD opened up about what he was tasting. “It’s a little dry,” he observed as he chewed through the salty fish. “It’s okay, it’s alright — it’s kind of like a tuna fish, or whatever.”

The #romanempire trend, which typically has women asking men how often they think about ancient Rome, has surpassed more than a billion views on TikTok. “This one really caught me by surprise,” Howard admitted. “I’ve spent most of my life thinking [about] what would my audience like to hear and see. Who knew it was this easy?”

For staffer Jason Kaplan, it’s a regular thing. “I bet a couple times a week,” he revealed of how frequently he thinks of the topic. “New York reminds me of Rome. I think about the end of the Roman Empire and if we’re facing that.”

“A couple times a week — that’s a lot,” a dumbfounded Robin responded.

“All the years I was on the radio I should’ve just talked about the Roman Empire,” Howard added.