About

If You Read This You Are Gay LMAO is a catchphrase that was reportedly inscribed into one of the unfired bullet casings loaded into the bolt-action rifle allegedly used by Tyler Robinson to fatally shoot Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University (UVU) in early September 2025. The inscription was revealed during an FBI press conference on September 12th, 2025, two days after Kirk was killed, inspiring discourse and memes using the phrase. Some of the most viral memes depict the FBI investigator who found the bullet getting embarrassed or angry after reading the inscription. Use of the phrase may be considered an act of trolling. Some of the other bullet casings referenced memes and internet culture, including the Eagle 500kg Bomb and the OwO What's This? meme.

Origin

On September 12th, 2025, a press conference was held regarding the suspect who allegedly shot and killed right-wing commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University. Reportedly, investigators found the bolt-action rifle used in the shooting in a wooded area near the location. The press conference was livestreamed on YouTube^[1] by many news organizations.

During the conference, the details of what was engraved on several of the bullet casings related to the gun are described. Previously, rumors that the casings were inscribed with phrases relating to "transgender ideology" and "antifascist ideology" were spreading online.

Reportedly, the fired bullet casing read, "Notices bulges Owo what's that?" Others read, "O Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao" (an Italian song dedicated to the Italian resistance fighting against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany), "if you read this you are gay lmao" and "Hey fascist! Catch! Up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol and three down arrow symbols," which is a reference to the Eagle 500kg Bomb from the video game Helldivers 2.

Spread

The inscriptions on the bullet casings went viral online in mid-September 2025, with several of them inspiring discourse and memes on social media platforms.

On September 12th, 2025, X^[2] user and political streamer @BoxLoner (Loner Box) posted the inscriptions on the casings, writing, "whatever his ideology turns out to be, it never mattered. they'll blame democrats anyway," garnering over 1,800 likes in under a day.

Shortly after, X^[3] user @ImBillRay posted a Hank Finds Out reaction image captioned, "the first FBI agent who read the 'if you read this you are gay lmao' casing," garnering over 37,000 likes in about four hours.

A short amount of time later, X^[4] user @evanhill made a post explaining the "you are gay" casing as "just a troll joke," garnering over 3,200 likes in a few hours.

Around that time, the taylorlorenz3.0 Instagram^[5] account, belonging to independent journalist Taylor Lorenz, shared a collection of memes relating to Kirk's death, including @evanhill's, garnering over 3,000 likes in about three hours.

Later on September 12th, 2025, X^[6] user @mygoatiswashed posted a Yakuza reaction of Kiryu slamming a table, captioned, "The doctor removing the bullet from Charlie’s neck and seeing 'if you read this, you are gay lmao,'" garnering over 35,000 likes in a few hours. Notably, this casing was reportedly not the bullet fired at Kirk, but an unfired bullet found in the rifle recovered by the FBI.

Around the same time, Redditor u/Rombonius made a post on the /r/IThinkYouShouldLeave^[7] subreddit referencing the casing that gained over 250 upvotes in a few hours.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References