‘Corn Kid’ TikTok star becomes ‘corn-bassador’ of South Dakota

The “Corn Kid”, who became a viral sensation on social media after expressing his love for the vegetable, is now the “official corn-bassador” of South Dakota.

On Saturday, Governor Kristi Noem shared the news of an executive proclamation that was signed on 3 September on Twitter that gave the adorable seven-year-old, Tariq, his new title.

“The Corn Kid came to South Dakota’s very own @Corn_Palace!!!,” she wrote. “Welcome to South Dakota Tariq, our official Corn-bassador! Eat lots of corn.”

Noem also tweeted photos of Tariq at The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, where he met a corn mascot and posed behind a cardboard cut-out of a castle.

In the document, the state’s governor shared how Tariq “recently discovered that corn was real” and that he “believes wholeheartedly [that] it tastes good”.

“Tariq loves corn and encourages everyone to try it, even if it’s only a bite,” Noem continued. “Tariq’s determination that corn is ‘awesome’ and ‘a big lump with knobs (and) juice has led him to be unable to imagine a more beautiful thing.”

Along with describing him as “an outstanding young man,” the proclamation acknowledged his online success, adding: “Tariq’s a-maize-ing endorsement contains more than a kernel of truth and has reached ears across the world via social media.”

On Saturday, the governor’s office also shared a TikTok video of Tariq holding an ear of corn and saying: “Hi South Dakota. Have a corn-tastic day!”

Noem’s note made multiple references to how Tariq went viral after doing an interview with the Instagram Series “Recess Therapy”, where he first praised corn for how it tasted.

While speaking to series host Julian Shapiro-Barnum, Tariq could be seen eating an ear of corn, before he held it up and said: “I mean, look at this thing. I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing.”

After sharing some of his other favourite things, including games like hide and seek, he emphasised his love for corn and described how “it has the juice,” which is the part that he likes most about it.

He then concluded his interview, which has more than two millions likes, by saying that corn should only cost “one dollar”.

The video has prompted many responses on TikTok, including a video by musical group Gregory Brothers. The group did a remix of Tariq’s interview and created a sound on the app called, “It’s Corn.” As of 7 September, there have been more than 656,100 TikTok videos made with the remix.