Did the storied Egyptian queen Cleopatra look like the spitting image of Britney Spears? Almost certainly not. And that’s the joke behind a very good, very popular tweet that claims a 3D Britney model is a Harvard University reconstruction of the ancient queen’s face.
https://twitter.com/Iovemedown/status/965318823002873856
This is actually just a model from the game Britney’s Dance Beat, and that’s the punchline: Britney is a true queen. But when @lovemedown posted it, two very funny things happened. One, people somehow thought it was real—and even started to get mad about it. Two, it became a huge meme. Now everyone’s posting their own “models of Cleopatra.”
Let’s look at the angry reactions first, because they are really something. The attempts to scientifically explain the error in what should have been an obvious joke are the exact type of special delight that Twitter dot com was made to deliver.
Why don't you link the scientific article instead of just posting unverified pictures?
— H4us (@h4usss) February 21, 2018
Wouldn't have blonde hair. She was a mix of Greek and Egyptian so hair would be brown or black in color as would the eyes.
— Benevolent Dictator Jack B. Stout II (@Jack_Stout_II) February 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/NotoriousSDA/status/966750080215625728
https://twitter.com/TinaRinconMtnz/status/966784574129876997
https://twitter.com/hoosierworld/status/966784323792855040
Perhaps they had Elizabeth Taylor in mind rather than the real Cleopatra ??
— Gerard (@downgerd) February 22, 2018
Cleopatra wasn't white dumbass! Stop white washing history.Just because the church destroyed and hid the history and culture of Europe doesn't mean we get to pick and choose from other cultures, it means we have to research & demand our hidden history back from the church & gov.
— Timber Dawn Child (@Timber_DawnChil) February 22, 2018
The original poster can’t believe people are missing the humor:
https://twitter.com/Iovemedown/status/966730103869685761
But the people who got the joke loved it, and now everyone’s posting their own interpretations of Cleopatra.
Some are shouting out contemporary queens—Rihanna, Beyoncé, Gaga—in the same way that the original post stanned for Britney:
https://twitter.com/Negritofollable/status/966815483319242753
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what God may have looked like. The results are breathtaking and truly make you think about life in a different way. pic.twitter.com/fGl3NQt6Fd
— yllireally (@whydee__) February 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/rainbowIvnd/status/966806563032879105
Others are just using selfies, bad 3D models, or whatever funny meme pictures they can think of. It’s wildly easy to participate in this meme. Any photo will do, although some are funnier than others.
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may have looked like. pic.twitter.com/ec9yITaOVh
— ℮ﭐՀՀﭐᎠ (@danababy97) February 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/deaddilf69/status/966810789771382784
https://twitter.com/acregger17/status/966822244935782401
https://twitter.com/_EllaSinclair/status/966777612960870400
Scientists at Harvard University have created this hyperrealistic illustration depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may have looked like. pic.twitter.com/ZO56imXFax
— rabbi cotton candy bitch (@toe666knife) February 22, 2018
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may have looked like. pic.twitter.com/n6iYfgYx9k
— doink (@lobstadelic) February 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/bellawheez/status/966812357551972354
There are already hundreds of these posts and, as of Thursday night, there were more going up every minute. This is like the female version of the 2016 “ideal male body” meme, where people posted their comical interpretations of a fit man:
https://twitter.com/scrowder/status/687260244364267522?lang=en
Like “ideal male body,” the Cleopatra joke will eventually die down, but there will be callbacks to it for years to come. Just when you forgot how funny it was, someone will do the joke.
And someone else will be there to say, “It’s Britney, bitch.”