If you spent any time on "Stan Twitter" between 2014 and 2017, you definitely saw it. A blurry, aggressively unflattering photo of a pop star—usually Demi Lovato—accompanied by three blunt words: delete it fat. It’s one of those internet artifacts that feels like a fever dream now. It was mean. It was absurd. It was everywhere. Honestly, it was the kind of thing that defined an era of toxic, high-speed celebrity worship and trolling that we’re still trying to unpack today.
But here’s the thing. The delete it fat meme isn't just a relic. It’s a case study in how the internet creates fake narratives out of thin air and then treats them as gospel.
The Fake Screenshot That Started a War
Memes usually have a clear origin story. Someone makes a face, a cat does something stupid, or a politician says something they shouldn't. The delete it fat meme is different because it’s based on a total lie. It basically started with a series of Photoshopped direct messages.
Back in 2014, anonymous users (mostly on Twitter and Tumblr) began circulating screenshots that appeared to show Demi Lovato bullying her fans. In these fake messages, "Demi" would respond to a simple "I love you" with something unhinged. The most famous one involved a fan saying, "I hope you have a great day," and the response being a cold, "Delete it fat."
It was ridiculous. Obviously.
But in the ecosystem of 2014 fandom, where "stans" would go to war over a single chart position, it didn't matter if it was real. People wanted a reason to be messy. They wanted a villain. So, the phrase took on a life of its own. It became a shorthand for any time someone wanted to shut down a conversation or just be an agent of chaos.
Why Demi Lovato?
You have to wonder why Demi was the target. At the time, she was very vocal about her struggles with eating disorders and body image. That’s what makes the meme particularly dark. Trolls knew exactly where to poke. By creating a fake persona of Demi as someone who called her own fans "fat," they were weaponizing her public vulnerabilities against her.
It was a specific type of cruelty disguised as a joke.
The meme didn't stop at DMs. Trolls eventually started "Poot"-ing the situation. If you remember Poot Lovato—that weird, distorted photo of Demi taken at a bad angle that people claimed was her twin sister living in a basement—you know how weird things got. The delete it fat meme was the linguistic equivalent of Poot. It was a way to distort a celebrity's identity into something grotesque and funny.
The Evolution of Stan Language
Stans are a different breed. They have their own dialect.
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The delete it fat meme helped pioneer a specific brand of dismissive internet humor. It’s part of the same family as "I'm screaming" or "literally iconic," but with a jagged edge. When someone used the phrase, they weren't necessarily calling the other person overweight. Most of the time, they weren't even thinking about the literal meaning of the words. It became a rhythmic, three-syllable "shut up."
Think about the structure:
- Delete (Action)
- It (Object)
- Fat (Modifier/Insult)
It’s punchy. It’s easy to type during a Twitter beef. It’s short enough to fit in a character-limited bio.
The Persistence of "Flicked My Vagina"
Another weird layer to this was the "flicked my vagina" story. It’s almost impossible to talk about delete it fat without mentioning the fake story about Demi meeting a fan, flicking their vagina, and speaking whale to them.
Yes. Speaking whale.
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A fan (actually a troll account) wrote a long, detailed "receipt" about meeting Demi. They claimed she was incredibly rude, insulted their weight, and then made whale noises at them. It was so absurd that it circled back to being funny. This "whale" narrative merged with the delete it fat meme to create a version of Demi Lovato that only existed in the minds of Twitter users.
The Real-World Impact
Is it okay to laugh at this? That’s the question that usually gets ignored.
We talk about cyberbullying in a general sense, but when it’s directed at a celebrity with millions of dollars, we often think they’re immune. Demi Lovato has spoken multiple times about how much the internet’s obsession with her body and her "memes" affected her mental health. When thousands of people are spamming your comments with "delete it fat," the humor starts to wear thin.
It’s a weird paradox. The people using the meme often claimed to be fans of other artists (like Selena Gomez or Taylor Swift), using it as a weapon in a proxy war. But in doing so, they created a culture where body shaming was just another "reaction image."
Why the Meme Still Matters Today
You might think a meme from ten years ago would be dead. But the delete it fat meme has a weirdly long tail.
It pops up in "nostalgia" threads. It gets referenced by newer generations who don't even know who Demi Lovato is, or at least don't know the context of the 2014 DM fakes. It has become a piece of "Deep Internet" lore.
The Anatomy of a Long-Lasting Meme
- Simplicity: Three words. Easy to remember.
- Absurdity: The idea of a pop star saying this is so far-fetched it stays funny to some.
- Versatility: You can use it in almost any context where you want to dismiss someone.
- Visuals: The blurry, low-res photos that usually accompany the text add to the "cursed" aesthetic.
We’ve moved on to new memes, obviously. Now we have "it’s giving" and "core" and whatever else is trending on TikTok this week. But the DNA of the delete it fat meme is present in how we interact today. It was one of the first times we saw a celebrity’s image completely hijacked by a fictionalized, mean-spirited version of themselves.
Navigating the Legacy
Honestly, looking back at it feels a bit like looking at an old yearbook photo where you’re wearing something embarrassing. The internet was a lawless place in the mid-2010s. We were still figuring out the boundaries between "trolling" and "harassment."
If you’re someone who still uses the phrase, or if you see it popping up in your feed, it’s worth remembering that it started as a targeted campaign to mess with someone’s head. It’s a funny phrase, sure, but the history is messy.
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How to Handle Old Memes in Modern Spaces
If you’re a content creator or just someone who likes to post, how do you deal with "edgy" nostalgia like this?
- Know the source. Don't just repost things because they look funny. Understanding that this meme was built on fake DMs and body shaming changes the vibe.
- Read the room. Using this in 2026 feels a bit dated. It’s like using "rage comics" or "Advice Animals."
- Focus on the absurdity, not the insult. The parts of the meme that actually lasted are the ones that are so weird they don't make sense, like the whale noises. The parts that are just mean? Those are best left in 2014.
The delete it fat meme is a perfect example of how the internet can turn a lie into a legacy. It’s a reminder that once you post something—even if it’s a fake screenshot—it never truly goes away. It just evolves into something else.
Whether you think it’s a harmless joke or a symptom of a toxic fan culture, you can't deny its impact. It changed the way we talk online. It changed the way celebrities interact with their fans. And, for better or worse, it’s probably going to be around for another ten years in some corner of the web.
The next time you see a blurry photo of a celebrity with a nonsensical caption, you’re looking at the descendant of the delete it fat era. It’s a weird world.
To really understand the current state of internet culture, you have to look at these uncomfortable roots. Start by looking into the history of "stan" terminology or the evolution of "reaction images" to see how phrases like these shaped the way we communicate in 280 characters or less. Keep an eye on how current "flop" accounts on TikTok are recycling these old tropes; it’s a fascinating look at digital archaeology in real-time.