Introduction

The It's Always Morally Correct meme is a popular image macro series that humorously asserts that certain actions can be justified as never being racist or morally wrong.

Background

This meme format is inspired by the cover art of André Cymone's 1982 album, Livin' in the New Wave, which features Cymone in a virtual reality setting, seemingly channeling energy from his hands.

How It Began

André Cymone released his debut album Livin' in the New Wave in 1982, showcasing a cover that portrays him in a VR environment with a visual effect of energy emanating from his hands. On April 3rd, 2018, Twitter user @NewSovietPoster shared an image macro based on the album cover, captioning it 'You can always do an Italian accent, it's never racist.' This tweet garnered over 1,500 retweets and 8,900 likes over four years.

Meme Evolution

The meme gained traction in the year following its inception, circulating across various social media platforms. On July 31st, 2019, the account Reactions (@reactjpgs) archived the image. The first derivative meme appeared on February 10th, 2019, from Instagram page decolonial.meme.queens, which received over 7,400 likes. By December 2019, a recaption asserting 'you can always make fun of white people' went viral. The first known repost of the image was made by Instagram account yungcumswamp on December 12th, 2019. On October 2nd, 2020, the meme was recaptioned 'it's always morally correct' by an uncredited Facebook page, gaining significant engagement. In subsequent weeks, various recaptions, including those advocating for the piracy of Nintendo products, surfaced. The format saw a resurgence in August 2021 and maintained popularity into early 2022, particularly after notable tweets referencing the Chris Pratt casting news.