Article Lead Image

Flickr/@quekevelyn/Twitter

This ‘Stop Pitting Against Each Other’ meme is the ultimate passive-aggressive call-out

Will Jeremy Renner ever win?

Photo of Stacey Ritzen 

Stacey Ritzen

Internet Culture

Posted on Sep 5, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 4:42 am CDT

Thanks to meme culture, there are certainly no shortage of clever ways to low-key ridicule, put on blast, or generally throw shade around on the internet. But that doesn’t stop the internet from constantly churning out new and creative memes, and one of the latest call-out memes to trend, “stop pitting [blank] against each other,” may very well be the most passive-aggressive so far.

Essentially, the meme lists people, fictional characters, places, or things with a directive to stop “pitting [blank] against each other,” in which each list item is given a typically positive adjective for one reason or another … except for one, glaring omission.

‘Stop Pitting Against Each Other’ meme

As you can see in a handful of the examples below, the “stop pitting against each other” meme is applicable to everything, including Black actors and characters from The Office to Dungeons & Dragons and scientific practices. (Our most sincerest of apologies to Michael B. Jordan and, uh, Toby.)

https://twitter.com/andthejets/status/1165109970284605442

And then there’s this particularly savage burn at the expense of Kanye West, who apparently doesn’t even deserve our collective praise or scorn:

https://twitter.com/archersmedicine/status/1168852732297564161

The origin of the “stopping pitting against each other” meme, however, appears to have derived from a much more wholesome tweet.

Following the release of Taylor Swift’s music video for “You Need To Calm Down” on June 17, Twitter user @SelOwnsMySoul tweeted the following, in an apparent reference to the lyrics “But we figured you out / We all know now, we all got crowns,” with the caption: “STOP PITTING WOMEN AGAINST EACH OTHER.”

The tweet was likewise accompanied with a screengrab from the video, depicting drag queen versions of Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Adele, Cardi B., Swift, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj—as portrayed by various RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants.

A few weeks later, the Pop Crave Twitter account posted a similar sentiment that went viral, with the same caption: “Stop pitting woman [sic] against reach other,” which has since been retweeted over 300 times.

https://twitter.com/popcrayye/status/1148566563160674304

But by August, the “stopping pitting against each other” meme had taken on a mind of its own. And of course, there have also been plenty of Marvel-inspired variations of the meme to go around. (Our sincerest apologies to Jeremy Renner.)

https://twitter.com/babybarness/status/1162143256303546373

https://twitter.com/vormirloki/status/1162478255691223040

Over Labor Day weekend, the “stop pitting against each other” meme evolved yet again, when Twitter user @matt_digs posted a tweet that went crazy viral (with over 103,000 likes and 2,000 retweets at the time of this writing) that took a potshot at the city of Philadelphia—which this Philly-based writer will refrain from adding personal commentary to.

“STOP talking shit about different US cities,” he wrote, accompanied by a list of various cities that all received glowing adjectives–with the noticeable absence of the City of Brotherly Love.

The tweet inspired others to begin others using the meme format to roast other geographical locations, such as cities in Texas, Midwestern states, and so on.

Although at least one person used it to rate vegan food:

If there’s one good thing to come from the “stop pitting against each other” or “stop talking shit” memes, it’s that most of us can agree that Daiya is not the best vegan cheese.

READ MORE:

Share this article
*First Published: Sep 5, 2019, 4:33 pm CDT

Stacey Ritzen

Stacey Ritzen is a reporter and editor based in West Philadelphia with over 10 years' experience covering pop culture, web culture, entertainment, and news. You can follow her on Twitter @staceyritzen.

Stacey Ritzen