About

I Have Nothing! is a meme catchphrase created by TikTokers ThomTheTroll (@tomthetroll_) and DomTheTroll (@domthetroll) in 2024. The two yell the phrase at gas station cashiers after trying to pay with insufficient funds like a single penny or pieces of paper with memes, like John Pork or Freakbob, printed on them. Going into 2024, they began yelling it at police officers and other service workers in their prank videos. I Have Nothing memes surfaced en masse on TikTok and elsewhere during the timeframe.

Origin

On May 2nd, 2024, TikToker^[1] @tomthetroll_ posted a video from a 7/11 convenience store in which he told the cashier, "I have nothing!" when asked for money. Over six months, the video received roughly 1.2 million plays and 141,000 likes (shown below).

Spread

In the following weeks, @tomthetroll_ and his friend @domthetroll began consistently saying I Have Nothing in their videos. For instance, on June 10th, 2024, TikToker^[2] @domthetroll posted a video in which he approached a cashier with a picture of P. Diddy, ending the video by saying the catchphrase. Over five months, the video received roughly 2.1 million plays and 287,700 likes (shown below).

Also on June 10th, TikToker^[3] @tomthetroll_ posted a video with @domthetroll in which they said I Have Nothing while doing the gas station prank, gaining over 11.2 million plays and 1.1 million likes in five months (shown below).

The catchphrase's influence spread to other creators in 2024. For instance, on September 30th, TikToker^[4] @worldofhoyt posted a clip of Joshua Block, aka World of T-shirts, with DomTheTroll who's telling Block to Put the Fries In the Bag while Block shouts back, "I have nothing!" The clip received over 1.1 million plays and 91,100 likes in two months (shown below).

On November 1st, 2024, TikToker^[5] @your.bummy.english.tutor posted a video of telling trick-or-treaters, "I have nothing," gaining over 329,000 plays and 47,600 likes in three days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References