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What Is The 'Beabadoobee And NBA YoungBoy Drama'? The 'Artists Who Can't Sing' Meme That Made Beabadoobee Crash Out Explained
Pop artist Beabadoobee is going viral after posting what's being called a "sexist rant" against incel men, and it all started because of an NBA YoungBoy singing opera meme.
The meme, which compares artists who can sing to artists who can't sing, went viral on TikTok recently and encouraged her to speak up, but some people aren't responding well to her rant and claiming she fell for rage bait.
So, what meme is Beabadoobee so mad about and why are people saying she's "crashing out?" Here's what you need to know about the viral controversy.
@maskedvigilanteshq Rappers who can sing vs rappers who can’t ahh #singing #beabadoobee #nbayoungboy ♬ original sound – Masked Vigilantes
What Is The 'Beabadoobee Can't Sing' Meme?
In mid-January 2025, TikToker @maxxvillan posted a version of the "artists who can sing vs. artists who can't sing" meme using Beabadoobee as an example of an artist who can't sing and NBA YoungBoy as an example of an artist who can.
The meme is ironic, with the clip of Beabadoobee featuring her actual singing voice and the YoungBoy clip featuring the rapper shooting lasers from his eyes, its audio replaced with operatic singing. The video has garnered about 5 million views since then, making it one of the most viral examples of the meme trend.
@maxxvillan NBA Youngboy is a very talented artist. #nbayounggboy #beabadoobee #artistswhocansingvsartistswhocantsing #artistswhocansing #artistswhocantsing #artist #music ♬ the way things go – beabadoobee
How Did Beabadoobee Respond To The Meme?
Beabadoobee decided to respond to the "Beabadoobee can't sing" meme in late February 2025 via a TikTok Story.
In the Story, Beabadoobee calls the people who make and support the memes incel men and suggests they're jealous because she's rich and gets more women than they do. She then openly states that she has no shame in blocking people who share the memes.
She fell for the ragebait 😭😭💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/z95cgcKQxa
— ًً (@ak8inu) February 21, 2025
A day later, after receiving some flak for her first video, Beabadoobee posted another video clarifying her decision. She doesn't back down, instead saying the flexing in the first video was just a joke but doubling down on the claim that it's mostly men sharing these memes.
She then goes on to talk about how men have harassed her with inappropriate comments since she was 17. She defends herself for expressing frustration over it.
She also claims it wasn't the meme that set her off, saying she even finds some of the memes funny, but the harassing comments that the memes inspire and fuel.
beabadoobee’s response to the current hate on her pic.twitter.com/BNKyTCAQVY
— glxsten (@glxstenn) February 22, 2025
How Is Social Media Reacting To Beabadoobee's Rant?
Many people on social media have not been kind to Beabadoobee's initial rant or follow-up statement. Some people are calling the rant sexist for singling out men and referring to them as incels.
Others simply think she's reacting too strongly to the meme and doesn't understand that the joke was ironic, with the joke being that Beabadoobee can sing.
Beabadoobee's rant against the meme has only fuelled further "artists who can't sing" memes, with many using Beabadoobee as the example.
However, Beabadoobee is also getting support from her fans. The TikTok fan page @beabadoobegg has been posting in defense of Beabadoobee to hundreds of thousands of views on each video.
Recently, X user @dresserkeery made a post defending the singer that gained over 25,000 likes, suggesting there are people who think Beabadoobee's rant was justified.
@nabbus_ lock in gang#nabbus#funny#relatble#beabadoobee #indie#viraltiktok #fyp #viralvideo #fypシ゚ #viral #cantsing#nbayoungboy ♬ the way things go – beabadoobee
@zinaaweenaa #fyp #beabadoobee ♬ the way things go – beabadoobee
@dom_2562 “your still a man” 😭#music #beabadoobee #fypシ #nbayoungboy ♬ the way things go – beabadoobee
@not_spife #nbayounggboy #beabadoobee #artistswhocantsingvsartistswhocansing #artist #singing #whatsafather ♬ original sound – Spife
For the full history of the "Beabadoobee Can't Sing" NBA YoungBoy Opera Meme Crashout, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
