If you’re an avid user of social media, you’ve no doubt come across the “f*ck them kids” meme. The phrase is often used to express a lack of concern in a particular situation, especially any that involves children, and is usually accompanied by an image of now-retired basketball star Michael Jordan.
But where does this classic meme originally 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.
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, “f*ck 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, “F*ck them kids,” in bold capital letters across the middle of the image.
???????????????????????? #NikeBoycott pic.twitter.com/UP4t9WSbBj
— Killa Tex (@KILLATEX) September 4, 2018
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 "f*ck them kids" as an ironic and humorous catchphrase to express annoyance towards children. Although it may sound assertive, it’s most often used for amusement and isn’t intended literally.
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 “F*ck them kids.”
Another popular iteration replaces Jordan’s face with an image of the character Anakin Skywalker from the “Star Wars” franchise.
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
Eventually, a new template for the meme emerged, with creators titling images and videos with the phrase, “If ‘f*ck them kids’ was a person.”
If "fuck them kids" was a person ???????????? pic.twitter.com/m2VRVPA3vh
— MASE (@mase_motsapi) August 7, 2019
The classic meme continues to inspire creators to use it in various situations, as revealed by a quick search for the term on X.
fuck them kids ???????? pic.twitter.com/ZG4aej8lqq
— Ellie MacLean (@ellieemac69) November 21, 2023
Even animals got into the mix.
bro said fuck them kids ????????
— vids that go hard (@vidsthatgohard) October 26, 2023
pic.twitter.com/PXBYgVuztw
With the malleability of the catchphrase and background image, plus its role in popular culture, it looks like the internet will be saying "F*ck them kids" for years to come.
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