Haters Will See You X and Be Like Y

Submission 7,712

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About

Haters Will See You X and Be Like Y is a phrasal template meme based on the catchphrase Haters Will See You Walk on Water and Say It's Because You Can't Swim. The phrase was first edited for memetic use in an image macro of a glowing man in 2015 to read, "haters will see you teleport and be like he can't afford a car," which then spread over the following years with new variations.

Origin

On an unknown date, President Lydon B. Johnson was reportedly quoted^[1] saying, "If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim.'" Margaret Thatcher purportedly later said a variation of this and was quoted^[2] saying, "If my critics saw me walking over the River Thames they would say it was because I couldn't swim." The quote was further simplified and modernized to, "Haters will see you walk on water and say it's because you can't swim," a quote that has been shared on numerous image macros and religious and motivational pages throughout the 2010s (example shown below).^[3]

On August 13th, 2015, Tumblr^[4] user cornflakefiesta posted an image macro using a new version of the quote, writing, "Haters will see you teleport and be like he can't afford a car," along with a grainy image of someone who appears to be teleporting, garnering over 12,700 notes in seven years (shown below). It is unclear if this is the original or a repost.

Spread

The meme inspired new variations over the following years, often using various images in place of the original. On February 26th, 2017, Tumblr^[5] user photo-frier posted a deep-fried version of the glowing man meme with a caption about regenerating limbs, garnering over 34,000 notes in five years (shown below).

On September 1st, 2019, a Redditor posted a version of the meme to /r/OkBuddyRetard^[6] about breaking the fabric of reality, garnering over 260 upvotes in three years. On October 14th, 2021, Facebook^[7] page Evil Niqqa Memes 3 posted a version of the meme about levitating, garnering over 3,400 reactions and 2,300 shares in a year (shown below, left). It was reposted to /r/shittyaskscience^[8] the next day, garnering over 1,400 upvotes. On October 30th, Instagram^[9] user frogseatingass posted a version of the meme that garnered over 5,000 likes in a year (shown below, right).

On August 4th, 2022, Instagram^[10] user thesurrealbank shared the original version of the meme, garnering over 22,900 likes in three months. On September 26th, Facebook^[11] page Rappers in Peculiar Places posted a meme about summoning demons using the format, garnering over 2,100 reactions and 1,100 shares in two months (shown below).

On November 1st, 2022, iFunny^[12] user Eofor posted a version of the meme about goblins, garnering over 11,800 smiles in two weeks (shown below).