Meme Overview

The It's Never Racist Template is a series of image macros that humorously assert that certain actions are acceptable since they are claimed to be morally sound or not racist.

Background

The meme derives its visual style from the cover artwork of André Cymone's 1982 album, Livin' in the New Wave, which features Cymone in a virtual reality setting, seemingly generating a ray of energy from his hands.

How It Began

André Cymone released his debut album, Livin' in the New Wave, in 1982. The album's cover art shows Cymone in a VR environment, with a striking visual of energy emanating from his hands. On April 3, 2018, Twitter user @NewSovietPoster posted a meme that combined the front and back covers of the album, captioning it, "You can always do an Italian accent, it's never racist," with the latter part placed inside the energy ray. This tweet garnered over 1,500 retweets and 8,900 likes over four years.

Internet Reaction

In the year following its inception, the meme gained traction across various social media platforms. On July 31, 2019, the account Reactions (@reactjpgs) archived the image. The first derivative version of the meme appeared on February 10, 2019, when the Instagram page decolonial.meme.queens shared it, achieving over 7,400 likes in three years. In December 2019, a recaptioned version stating, "you can always make fun of white people," became popular. The phrase "it's always morally correct" was first used in a meme on October 2, 2020, by a Facebook page, receiving significant engagement. The format surged in popularity in August 2021, particularly following the announcement of Chris Pratt's casting as Mario, with variations and recaptions circulating widely.