It started with a picture of a dog. Usually, a very naughty dog. Maybe it was a golden retriever who had shredded a couch or a cat that had successfully swiped a whole rotisserie chicken off the counter. Beneath the carnage of feathers or grease, the caption would read, "They could never make me hate you." It was cute. It was a joke. It was the digital equivalent of a shrug and a forehead kiss.
But then, because this is the internet, the joke mutated.
Suddenly, it wasn't just about mischievous pets. The phrase they could never make me hate you became the battle cry for every niche fandom, every tired stan, and every person clinging to a problematic favorite movie character. It turned into a meme about stubborn, irrational loyalty. In 2024 and 2025, the phrase exploded across TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), evolving from a sweet sentiment into a sharp, often ironic tool for cultural commentary. People aren't just saying they like something anymore. They are stating, quite loudly, that they refuse to be "educated" or "canceled" out of their affection for it.
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Where did they could never make me hate you actually come from?
Internet linguistics are messy. Tracing a meme to a "Patient Zero" is like trying to find a specific grain of sand in a desert, but we can get pretty close. Most digital historians point to the phrase’s roots in stan culture—specifically on Twitter around 2020 and 2021. Originally, it was a sincere expression used by fans of celebrities who were undergoing public scrutiny. If a pop star was getting "ratioed" for a bad take or a weird outfit, a loyal fan would post a photo of them with the caption to signal that their loyalty was unshakable.
It’s about the "us versus them" mentality.
The "they" in the sentence is the most important part. "They" are the critics, the morality police, the people writing the think pieces, and the general public who decided that a certain person or thing is no longer "cool." By saying they could never make me hate you, the user is drawing a line in the sand.
Eventually, the irony poisoned the well. That’s when it got fun. Users started pairing the phrase with objectively terrible people or fictional villains. You’d see a photo of a literal cinematic monster—think Amy Dunne from Gone Girl or even more absurdly, a cartoon villain like Plankton from SpongeBob—with the caption. It became a way to signal that you understand someone is "bad," but you find them way too entertaining to stop liking them.
The psychology of the stubborn fan
Why do we do this? Honestly, it’s a reaction to the exhaustion of "cancel culture" and the constant pressure to have the "correct" opinion on everything.
For a few years, the internet felt like a giant classroom where everyone was waiting for you to say the wrong thing. If a celebrity did something mildly annoying, the expectation was that you had to denounce them immediately. They could never make me hate you is the counter-movement. It’s a way of reclaiming the right to be messy, biased, and illogical in who we choose to support.
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Psychologically, this taps into what’s known as "reactance theory." When people feel like their freedom to choose an affinity is being threatened, they often double down. They dig in their heels. If the entire world is telling you that a certain TV show is "problematic," your brain might actually find more reasons to love it just to spite the collective pressure.
It’s a shield.
The irony vs. the sincerity
There are basically two ways this meme is used now:
- The Ironic S-Post: This is when you post a picture of something like a giant, man-eating shark or a fictional serial killer. You know they are bad. Everyone knows they are bad. The humor comes from applying a deeply sentimental, "loyal" phrase to something that deserves no loyalty.
- The Genuine Defense: This is for the "flops." This is for the movie that got a 12% on Rotten Tomatoes but you still watch every Christmas. This is for the musician whose last three albums were terrible, but you remember how much their first one meant to you. In this context, the phrase is a genuine hug to a piece of media that the rest of the world has moved on from.
Impact on 2020s Pop Culture
We can't talk about this phrase without talking about its impact on how we consume media. We’ve entered an era of "post-critique."
Think about the way people reacted to the movie Challengers or even the polarizing discourse around Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. The reviews almost didn't matter. The memes did. When fans use they could never make me hate you, they are effectively saying that professional criticism is irrelevant to the personal relationship they have with the art.
It makes things "critic-proof."
If your defense of something isn't based on logic, then logic can't be used to take it away from you. You can't argue with "I just like them." It’s a conversation stopper. In a world where every take is analyzed to death, a conversation stopper is a powerful thing to have.
The darker side of the meme
Is there a downside? Kinda.
When the phrase is used for actual, real-world figures who have done genuine harm, it can feel a bit gross. Using a "silly meme" to gloss over serious allegations or harmful behavior is where the humor tends to die for a lot of people. Critics argue that it's a way of "meme-ifying" morality, turning serious issues into just another aesthetic choice.
But for the most part, the internet keeps it in the realm of the trivial. It’s about the girl-group member who can’t dance, the messy reality TV star who starts every fight, or the video game that’s full of bugs but has a great story.
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How to use the phrase without being "that" person
If you’re going to drop a they could never make me hate you post, you’ve gotta read the room.
- Don't use it for people who have committed actual crimes (unless you're prepared for the backlash).
- Do use it for things that are harmlessly unpopular.
- Do use it for fictional characters who are "girlbossing" a bit too close to the sun.
- Don't try to explain why you're right. The whole point of the meme is that you don't care about being right.
Why this phrase won't die soon
Most memes have a shelf life of about two weeks. This one has lasted years. Why?
Because the feeling of being an "underdog" fan is evergreen. Everyone has that one thing—that one movie, that one song, that one weird snack—that everyone else thinks is trash. As long as people feel the need to defend their "guilty pleasures," the phrase will stick around. It’s a very human impulse to protect the things that bring us joy, especially when the rest of the world is throwing stones.
It’s basically the modern version of "Leave Britney Alone," but with a layer of irony that makes it easier to digest for a cynical audience.
Next Steps for Content Enthusiasts
If you want to master the art of the modern meme or understand why certain phrases stick while others fail, you need to look at the "Us vs. Them" dynamic in digital spaces. To dive deeper into this, your next move should be exploring the concept of Parasocial Relationships—it’s the engine that drives these displays of loyalty.
Start by auditing your own "they could never make me hate you" list. Recognizing which of your interests are driven by genuine quality versus which ones are driven by a defensive emotional connection can actually make you a sharper critic and a more self-aware consumer of media. Keep an eye on the "fandom cycles" on platforms like TikTok; usually, when a celebrity is at their lowest point in the press, that is exactly when you will see this phrase peak in the search trends. Understanding that timing is key to understanding how internet sentiment actually shifts.