A local TikTok star has faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour from Cambridge students. Josh Robinson, also known as OSHU on TikTok, has been accused of asking women uncomfortably personal and private questions, alongside criticisms of his behaviour on social media.

OSHU has over 5.1 million followers on TikTok. He garnered his fame through asking passers-by, mostly Cambridge students, what song they are listening to. Known to students as ‘the TikTok guy’, OSHU is famous on platforms such as Camfess for stopping students with his microphone throughout Cambridge’s city centre. However, critics argue that rather than being harmless fun, his videos have turned inappropriately sexual.

Varsity spoke to three female students who were interviewed by OSHU.

One told us: “you think that you’re gonna be okay with it, when he asks ‘can I ask you a question’, and then it just spirals. And suddenly you feel like you’re in a club and a guy is talking to you and you’re like, oh my god why is this happening, like, I’m so not interested. Like it’s the exact same experience emotionally.”

OSHU inquired whether he could ask her a question about kissing. “I just thought it would be one question. I thought it would be something so chill, but suddenly it was just getting more and more intense and then he bristles over you, and is like ‘do you want to kiss me?’”

The student said the questions were “personal” and “private”. She was expecting it to be a little intimate but “not so intimate it’s about sex basically. He was like, how do you lead up to sex? That’s not something I want to speak about with a stranger.”

After the questions, OSHU did not ask if he could put the video online. While the student did give her initial consent to the interview, she did not anticipate the questions that followed. She told Varsity: “do I feel like I was sexually harassed? No, but do I feel like I had a similar experience, like when your consent is not there? Yes.”

Comments on OSHU’s TikTok echo these concerns. In a video posted on the 16th October, he asks two women: “would you ever swallow my balls?” before holding up a packet of Maltesers. The video prompted a slew of critical comments, with one person writing: “Seriously not funny. Immature sexual harassment”. Other users said the clip was “not funny man”, and “not even funny just borderline sexual harassment.”

A similar video involves OSHU asking a woman: “would you swallow my sausage?” Users commented: “this is sexual harassment” and “Nahhhh too far”. One person wrote: “epic prank bro, I’m sure those women were super comfortable.”

Interviewees also highlighted that OSHU disproportionately speaks to women when his questions are sexual.

Two female friends who were interviewed by OSHU last week  told Varsity about their experience.

They said that OSHU initially asked whether he could ask them a question, without specifying what that question would be. The students said he did not ask for permission to film. They also said they were told to separate and be filmed individually.

OSHU then showed the first student a picture and asked if she could identify the man in it. When she replied that she couldn’t, the TikTokker told her they were a porn star.

OSHU then asked the student if she watched porn. When she replied no, he asked her why, and then showed her another picture, this time of a female porn star, asking the student if thought the actress was attractive.

The student’s friend said: “I could see she was visibly uncomfortable, and it’s not just because I know her.”

They felt particularly uncomfortable after the encounter, as he informed them afterwards that the video wasn’t going on TikTok, but was for his side project in India. The students are unsure if he was joking, but despite not knowing what this ‘side project’ involves, one of the students hopes he was telling the truth. “I don’t know if I want the video of me being like, yeah I know what downward dog is, or answering whether I watch porn, to be online”, she said.

They also noted that, despite the sexual nature of the questions, OSHU did not ask their age or confirm that they were not minors. Furthermore, he did not ask whether they were okay with the interview being published after it had been conducted. The students said: “once you’ve given your prior consent, you feel bad saying I don’t want you to post this. I don’t think there’s an option on how to say no. You just kind of walk away and then it’s done.”

OSHU does not have a legal obligation to ask for consent to film, or to post the videos to his 5 million followers, as they are filmed in a public place.

On the criticism, Josh Robinson commented, "I am very sorry to hear that these allegations have been raised against the content I put out. Whenever I conduct these interviews, I like to think we do so to a high standard of professionalism, including but not limited to ensuring the people that partake are of a suitable age, and that there is no bias in who is asked or what is asked of them - with regards to gender or otherwise.

"Regardless - I take all criticism seriously and will (as I have always done) strive to ensure that anything that could be deemed as misconduct is addressed. As a content creator, my only aim is to provide entertainment for my followers so the thought of causing discomfort to anyone participating stands firmly in opposition to my ethos. 

"If further claims are given, please reach me directly and we can discuss more about the issue."