LeBonBon / LeEvil James

About

LeBonBon and LeEvil James refer to two nicknames and a series of memes centering on a brighter and darker alter ego of American professional basketball player LeBron James. The memes started on TikTok in mid-March 2024 after the LeBron James 'You Are My Sunshine' edits, sparking more parodies and fan art depicting James as evil or good in a brighter light.

Origin

The earliest mention of the “LeEvil James” nickname was posted by TikTok^[1] user @gabraldy on March 22nd, 2024, in a video featuring a photoshopped image of LeBron James in a creepier and obscure aspect. The video also features a slowed version of Cristina Perri’s “You Are My Sunshine” song (shown below, left), amassing more than 2 million plays and 474,000 likes in four days.

As for “LeBonBon’s” origin, the nickname has been used in memes about LeBron since July 2023. One of the earliest known videos mentioning “LeBonBon” was posted on July 8th, 2023, by TikTok^[2] user @meowmeowkittensparkle in which they posted a fan edit of the basketball player paired with the caption “Lebonbon I love you.” The post (shown below, right) amassed more than 296,000 plays and 16,900 likes in almost a year.

Spread

As the LeBron James 'You Are My Sunshine' Edits started to go viral in mid-March 2024, the nicknames started to be used on memes featuring the brighter photoshopped image of LeBron, calling it "LeBonBon" and "LeEvil James" for the creepier photoshopped image version.

For instance, on March 23rd, 2024, TikTok^[3] user @code.christmas.tree posted a Fortnite skin based on the nicknames (shown below, left), amassing over 4 million plays and 738,000 likes in two days.

On March 24th, TikTok^[4] user @ifollow_back.in_2.min posted a "LeBonBon vs. LeEvil James" falling balls video (shown below, right), which garnered more than 892,000 plays and 113,000 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References