The “Beyonce kidnapped me” meme comes from a joke about a fake Sia tweet in which the first letter of each word spells out the statement. This observation arose amid conspiracy theories around the star that link her to the arrest of Sean “P Diddy” Combs on charges of sexual assault, abuse, and human trafficking.
While there are people who seem to sincerely believe in these theories, which get stranger by the day, Twitter users have been widely mocking them and turning some of the better joke posts into memes.
Did Beyonce kidnap Sia?
As far as we know, she did not, although anything is technically possible. However, there is no evidence that Sia ever posted the statements that spell out “Beyonce kidnapped me” with the first letter of each word.
What did happen is that, in response to the conspiracy theories, Twitter user @crulsmmr posted a likely Photoshopped screenshot of a Sia tweet containing three nonsense sentences.
“Baby, everything your own nice cat eats,” it says. “Kangaroo is dead, nowhere and purple penguins every day. My egg.”
The image is further edited to circle each word’s first letter and spells out “Beyonce kidnapped me,” with the user adding that “she was trying to warn us.” This, however, is not the first time the tweet about the nice cat and purple penguins has appeared.
‘Beyonce kidnapped me’ origins
User @crulsmmr posted the altered image on September 20, 2024, just as the jokes around the Beyonce conspiracy theories were heating up on the platform. A search of the statements reveals that people have been posting the gag for years.
The earliest known use of the cryptic tweet occurred on August 4, 2020, in response to one of those “what would you post to let people know you’d been kidnapped” questions. It’s unclear if user @nutest_ came up with this or if they stole it from elsewhere on the internet, but if Sia had tweeted it in 2015, people would have noticed the secret message.
What are the Beyonce conspiracy theories about?
The latest theories around Beyonce and her alleged evil doings surround the accusations against Diddy, with theorists claiming that she was involved in his criminal activities. These allegations stemmed from a larger idea that the legendary singer exerts massive power over other artists to the point that they are terrified of her.
One of the cruxes of this theory is the song “She Knows” by J. Cole, which pays respects to late artists like Michael Jackson, Aaliyah, and Left Eye. By some twisty logic, people claim the track hints that Beyonce killed these people. The Beyonce “She Knows” conspiracy theory gained traction following the Diddy arrest.
@thefernandomj Part 2| Follow my page for more information about the mystery #beyonce #jayz #michaeljackson #aaliyah #lefteye #sheknows #diddy #polemica #celebridades #foryoupage #viral ♬ She Knows – J. Cole
Those promoting this conspiracy attempt to support it with footage of artists thanking Beyonce during award acceptance speeches, claiming that they name-drop her out of fear that they will offend or enrage her by winning and not offering reverence. They also point to clips of random singers allegedly looking nervous around her.
‘Thank You Beyoncé’ meme and conspiracy theory
“Thank You Beyonce” is a catchphrase that refers to another subset of conspiracy theories around the singer. These claim that during awards shows and other events, musical artists often thank Beyoncé because they have to, honoring her as almost a god due to her immense power and longevity in the music industry.
@reelexplorer Thank you Beyonce, Celebrities Thanking Beyonce #beyonce #thankyoubeyonce #pdiddy #kanyewest #jayz #aaliyah #2pac #adele #magantheestallion #ladygaga #britneyspears #conspiracy #mystery #dualipa #musicindustry #dark #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – AUDIO
The conspiracy and meme took off when JoJo Siwa referenced the singer in her acceptance speech during the Industry Dance Awards in Oct. 2024.
“I also have to say thank you to Beyoncé, just so that we can keep the dancing community safe,” Siwa said. “Beyoncé, you’ve got great music,” added the pop star. “We all love to dance to it. We all love you. Someone had to, and I will be the someone.”
TikTok creator @king.asante expounded on this “chronically online” theory, explaining how people think that “if you don’t thank Beyonce or you’re not on her good side, it could lead to serious bad luck in your career. People believe that giving Beyonce a shout out, and thanking her is them kind of shielding themselves against any possible drama.”
“The timing of this is interesting…” he added, “it comes at a time when some fans are linking Beyonce and Diddy to some of his legal troubles, which is definitely not a good look.”
Beyonce conspiracy memes spread
People have made fun of these conspiracy theories before, but the renewed interest due to the Diddy charges ramped up the memes on Twitter in late September. This trend appeared to get going on September 30, especially after a viral tweet by user @quentinRIP quoting a Pop Base video.
The clip shows Dua Lipa watching Joni Mitchell perform while Beyonce sways to the music in the background. Dua Lipa has an emotional look on her face and her eyes dart away from Mitchell for a moment while otherwise remaining pretty much motionless, leading the Twitter user to make a joke referencing the conspiracy theories.
“Dua knew she had to stay still to not anger her… you can see the fear in her eyes,” they wrote.
The gag gained over 10.2 million views in just a couple days and inspired many more jokes on the topic.
‘Beyonce kidnapped me’ and ‘She Knows’ conspiracy memes
Related memes:
- Think you have what it takes to be Beyoncé’s assistant for the day?
- Beyoncé side-eyes woman talking to Jay-Z, creating a new meme
- People are breaking out the memes for Beyoncé’s new song
- These conspiracy theory memes will make you want to believe
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
