“Fuck them kids” sounds like the sort of controversial statement that could get a person canceled, yet it’s a rampant and heavily embraced part of meme culture across social media.
Often used to express a lack of concern in a particular situation, especially any that involve children, the phrase is usually accompanied by an image of now-retired basketball star Michael Jordan. Over the years, that has prompted even more questions from people just stumbling upon the meme for the first time. So how did we get here?
Where Did The ‘Fuck Them Kids’ Meme Come From?
In 2016, a YouTube video from user HoopJab made the rounds, showing NBA players Michael Jordan and Chris Paul playing a friendly one-on-one game at a summer camp for children. While playing, Paul challenged Jordan with a bet: if Jordan missed three shots, the entire camp of kids would get free Jordan sneakers.
The origin of “Fuck them kids” https://t.co/37tO7gzjnb
— Dart_Adams (@Dart_Adams) February 2, 2019
Jordan could have easily faked missing a basket and made the camp of children happy. But, to their dismay, he made every single shot and none of them got free sneakers. Because, you know, fuck them kids.
Two years later, in 2018, the video resurfaced online and inspired X (formerly Twitter) user Killa Tex (@killatex) to create a fake inspirational poster. The image, which went on to become the template for the famous meme, featured a black-and-white photograph of Jordan with the phrase “fuck them kids” in bold capital letters across the middle of the image.
Spread Of The Meme
Although the original post from Killa Tex received only 54 likes and seven reposts, the image spread across the internet after another Twitter user unironically included it in a thread explaining how he left his wife and children for a woman he had met only once.
Instagrammer Adenekan Mayowa (@officailmayorspeaks) later compiled screenshots from the thread, making the meme even more trendy.
People now use “fuck them kids” as an ironic and humorous catchphrase to express annoyance towards children—although it’s also prompted a lot of confusion as to whether Jordan actually ever said the phrase himself. He did not…as far as we know, anyway.
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Evolution Of The Meme
After the meme gained mass popularity as a reaction image, people began to further transform it to take on other meanings. Creators began to replace Jordan’s photo with black and white images of other well-known figures, such as Joe Biden, Jeffrey Epstein, and NBA player Russell Westbrook.
The post below illustrates one such transformation of the meme with a hypothetical conversation at Thanksgiving—someone suggests that the children should eat first, but the creator responds with “fuck them kids.”
Another popular iteration replaces Jordan’s face with an image of the character Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars franchise, who notoriously actually murdered children as part of his turn to the dark side.
This version originated with an excerpt from Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith in which Skywalker is about to kill several young Jedi trainees. One TikTok user, Drew (drewbie04), who reposted the clip recently captioned the post, “Anakin really said eff them kids.”
@drewbie04 Anakin really said eff them kids😈 #starwars #anakinskywalker #trending #fyp #effthemkids ♬ original sound – Drew
If ‘Fuck Them Kids’ Was…
Eventually, a new template for the meme emerged, with creators titling images and videos with the phrase, “If fuck them kids was [blank].” Often, this refers to personifying the phrase, although some people have utilized it in additional creative ways.
If “fuck them kids” was a person 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/m2VRVPA3vh
— MASE (@mase_motsapi) August 7, 2019
if “fuck them kids” was a scene pic.twitter.com/kKERP26cDk
— lissy (@babeygirlmac) May 18, 2023
If “fuck them kids” was personified https://t.co/dZxx5nlRBr
— K (@notthatkhalid) April 1, 2023
if “fuck them kids” was a person 💀 https://t.co/jHnd5YgJlE
— TagovA1oha 🌺🐬 (@perfctszn) December 25, 2023
Bernie Mac ‘Fuck Them Kids’
A fun twist to the story that a lot of people who use the Michael Jordan meme don’t realize is that “fuck them kids” can actually be traced back to the 2008 film Soul Men, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.
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Mac says the line in a scene that still frequently goes viral as people discover that it’s likely the inspiration for the dialogue portion of the meme.
The Meme’s Continued Legacy
Although the meme has evolved and expanded over the years, everything always comes back to that simple phrase: “fuck them kids.” And that alone is enough to continue inspiring creators to use or reference it in any number of ways across social media.
bro said fuck them kids 😭😭
— vids that go hard (@vidsthatgohard) October 26, 2023
pic.twitter.com/PXBYgVuztw
Happy Mother’s Day to the Queen of Fuck them kids #xmen https://t.co/rnRlS1TKD8 pic.twitter.com/n2JUXGBBzF
— Steven T (@steventphoto) May 13, 2024
With the malleability of the catchphrase, plus the original background image’s iconic role in popular culture, it looks like the internet will be saying “fuck them kids” for years to come. Sorry, kids!
Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.
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