Waga Baba Bobo

About

Waga Baba Bobo, sometimes misspelled as Waga Baga Bobo, is a nonsense phrase used to avoid telling the Jailor your role in the video game Town of Salem. A screenshot of someone using the phrase during a game went viral on Tumblr in 2017, becoming one of the most well-known memes and catchphrases in the Town of Salem community in years since.

Origin

On April 22nd, 2017, Tumblr^[1] user nez-remade posted a screenshot of the chat bar from a round of Town of Salem, a game of deduction similar to the video game Among Us and playing card game "Werewolf"^[6] in which a player in the Jailor role is asking another player what their role is to try and determine whether or not they can be trusted. The Jailor demands, "role," and the player answers "waga baba bobo," followed by a decision by the Jailor to execute the player (shown below). The post gained over 73,000 notes in four years.

Spread

On May 26th, 2019, Redditor u/operaticSwordsman posted the screenshot to /r/comedyheaven,^[2] garnering over 35,800 upvotes in two years. On the same day, YouTuber^[4] Luke Correia uploaded a video titled "How to Plead Your Innocence" voicing over the screenshot, garnering over 719,000 views in two years (shown below).

Over the course of four years, "Waga Baba Bobo" became arguably the best-known meme in the Town of Salem community, frequently referenced in posts and fan content regarding the game.

Waga Baga Bobo

Occasionally, the original phrase is misspelled as "waga baga bobo" due partly to an altered version of the original screenshot featuring the phrase. It is unknown when this mistake was first made.

On September 1st, 2017, Urban Dictionary^[3] user Blorgus added a definition for "waga baga bobo" to the site, notably misspelled, defined as, "A phrase usually used after being asked a question, been told a statement, or received an action that is typically difficult to respond to." This has helped spread the misspelling.

On December 28th, 2018, Tumblr^[5] user billandtedsexcellentgaymarriage posted an altered version of the screenshot reading "wage baga bobo" instead of "baba bobo," also with an additional string of dialogue attached to the bottom, garnering over 27,700 notes in over two years (shown below).

Outside Town Of Salem Fandom

In the years following its viral success, the phrase (as well as its misspelled variant) has since spread outside of the Town of Salem fandom and become a catchphrase used in general shitposts and memes (examples shown below, left and right).

On February 4th, 2021, YouTuber^[7] soof uploaded a video titled, "dream pleads his innocence | dream smp animatic" using the audio from the voiced over Waga Baba Bobo video over an original animation referencing Dream SMP, garnering over 241,000 views in two months (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References