The internet’s latest wedding obsession is not a choreographed first dance or a surprise celebrity performance. It is a groom’s mom being hoisted around the dance floor, legs in the air, in a TikTok clip that has rocketed past 25 million views and pulled the Beckham family’s private drama back into the spotlight. What started as a row over how Victoria Beckham allegedly behaved at her son Brooklyn Beckham’s wedding has turned into a referendum on how mothers are “allowed” to dance when the cameras are rolling.
At the center of it all is hairstylist Joseph Maine and his mother, Julie, whose chaotic, joyful moves have been drafted into a very public defense of Victoria Beckham. Their video has become a kind of cultural Rorschach test, with viewers projecting their own ideas about parenting, propriety and who gets to have fun at a wedding once their kids are grown.
The viral dance that launched a thousand takes
Joseph Maine, who is 36 years old, did not just post a random wedding memory. He deliberately shared a TikTok of his mother being carried around the reception by one of his friends, her dress riding up as she kicks her legs, as a pointed response to criticism of Victoria Beckham. In the clip, Maine’s mom is laughing and hanging on while the crowd cheers, a moment of pure reception chaos that he framed as proof that moms are allowed to cut loose. The video, which the couple shared on TikTok, has now been viewed more than 25 million times, a number confirmed in coverage of the TikTok clip.
Text over the video makes the intent even clearer. Maine positions the footage explicitly “in Victoria Beckham’s defense,” pushing back on Brooklyn Beckham’s claim that his mother “danced very inappropriately” at his wedding. That allegation, which Brooklyn shared publicly and which has since taken on a life of its own, is referenced in reporting that lays out the NEED TO KNOW context of the family fallout. By dropping his own mom into the discourse, Maine is effectively saying that if Julie’s airborne routine is acceptable, then Victoria Beckham’s moves should not be treated as scandalous.
How Victoria Beckham’s family drama crashed the party
The reason this one wedding dance is doing so much cultural work is that it arrived in the middle of a very specific storm. Brooklyn Beckham’s comments about his mother’s supposedly “very inappropriate” dancing at his wedding did not land in a vacuum. They fed into a broader narrative about Victoria Beckham as a controlling or attention seeking matriarch, a storyline that has followed her from pop stardom to fashion designer to mother of the groom. Coverage of the fallout notes that the allegation has taken on a life of its own, with the phrase repeated and dissected as part of a wider family fallout.
Into that conversation stepped Maine, who overlaid his TikTok with text that directly references Victoria Beckham and invites viewers to reconsider what “inappropriate” even means on a dance floor. One version of the clip includes the line “Your support makes all the difference,” a phrase that has been highlighted in reporting on the way he framed the post, and which appears in coverage of the Your support wording. By invoking Victoria Beckham by name and aligning his mom with her, he turns a private family complaint into a broader defense of mothers who refuse to fade into the background at their children’s milestones.
What the reaction says about moms, weddings and the internet
Reactions to Julie Maine’s dance have split along familiar internet fault lines. On one side are viewers who see a woman having the time of her life and recognize themselves in her, especially mothers who have spent years putting their children first. Reporting notes that she “loved seeing the women that enjoyed it and saw themselves in her,” a sentiment captured in coverage of how She loved the supportive comments. For these viewers, the clip is not about stealing the spotlight from the couple, it is about a mom finally getting a moment to be carefree in front of the people she loves.
On the other side are critics who read the same footage as attention grabbing or embarrassing, echoing the language that has been used about Victoria Beckham. Maine has acknowledged that there is “also a group online that understands the intentions of his video,” a line that appears in reporting on how he framed the post and that is referenced in coverage of the Your support message. That split screen reaction is what gives the TikTok its staying power. It is not just a funny wedding moment, it is a live debate over who weddings are really for, and how much joy mothers are allowed to show once their children are the ones at the altar.
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