What What (In the Butt)

What What (In the Butt)
Image from the video
Written by	Bobby Ciraldo Andrew Swant Samwell
Directed by	Bobby Ciraldo Andrew Swant
Starring	Samwell
Music by	Mike Stasny Samwell
Country of origin	US
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Bobby Ciraldo Andrew Swant
Running time	3:49
Distributor	Brownmark Films
Release
Original release	February 14th, 2007
Chronology
Followed by	"Protect Respect"

"What What (In the Butt)" is a viral video created by Andrew Swant and Bobby Ciraldo for the song of the same name by Samwell. It is known for its numerous camp references to homosexuality and anal sex. The lyrics of the song, a production of Mike Stasny, mostly revolve around the title. The video was made in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and uploaded on Valentine's Day 2007 to YouTube. As of March 2016, the video had over 60 million views.

With regard to the Christian imagery in the video, Samwell said, in an interview with KROQ-FM, that the opening image is "not a cross, but a flaming symbol that [he] just happened to use," but according to Stasny, "[Samwell] wanted it because he's a Christian but he doesn't do Christian morality. For him, having a burning cross is a way to pay respect to his beliefs." The video also parodies the flower petal scene from the movie American Beauty. Brownmark Films released an interview with Samwell on April 8, 2007, in which he discussed the public reception of the song at length.

In April 2008, Samwell appeared on the BBC television show Lily Allen and Friends for an interview and performed a live version of "What What (In the Butt)" with choreographed dancers. The video was also featured in episode #53 of ADD-TV in Manhattan. "What What (In the Butt)" was an official selection at the Milwaukee International Film Festival and the Mix Brasil Film Festival.

In June 2010 Samwell appeared on an episode of Comedy Central's Tosh.0, television show about viral videos. The segment told the story of how the "What What" video was created, followed by an acoustic duet version of the song by Samwell and Josh Homme, lead singer for Queens Of The Stone Age and guitar player for Kyuss.