guides
What Is The 'Wgat It Is' Meme? Instagram Reels' Viral 'Time Traveler' Brainrot Meme Explained
A new catchphrase is filling the comment sections of countless Instagram Reels posts and it's got a lot of people confused.
The phrase is "wgat it is," and it's a very niche reference to a specific Reels meme page that's become incredibly popular since December 2024. Now, the meme is starting to crossover with other brainrot memes making the rounds, such as Chopped Chin.
So what does "wgat it is" mean and how is it being used as a meme? Here's what you need to know.
What Is The 'Wgat It Is' Meme?
In May 2024, the Instagram Reels user timetravellerwhatyouplaying started spam-uploading slightly different variations of the same meme every day. The meme is a simple image macro featuring Kevin Hart's face from one of his old stand-up comedy specials under the text, "Time Traveller: What You Playing? Me: Minecraft 2 Time Traveler: Minecraft 2 what it is."
The posts didn't really take off for quite a while, but then, in December, the account posted a meme that garnered over 5 million views in just a month.
The meme, which shows a smiley face being crushed between two walls labeled "left thigh" and "right thigh," reads, "This could be us wgat 8 it is." The misspelled "what" as "wgat" apparently struck a lot of people as funny, and from there, the account capitalized on its virality.
How Is 'Wgat It Is' Used In Memes?
The account timetravellerwhatyouplaying has been regularly posting memes using the purposefully misspelled word "wgat" and the phrase "wgat it is" throughout December 2024 and January 2025. Essentially, the phrase or word is placed into pre-existing image macros in as absurd a way as possible, making for the most nonsensical memes possible.
The phrase has also caught on with people outside of the meme page, including X / Twitter and TikTok users, who have been inserting it into comments and posts as a reference to the page.
Now, "wgat it is" is starting to crossover with other brainrot memes that have become some of the most dominant in the first week of 2025. Most notably, it's appeared on several Chopped Chin memes, adding another layer to an already absurd and hard-to-understand format.
For the full history of wgat it is, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.