When the Function Doesn't Have X

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About

When the Function Doesn't Have X is a phrasal template and POV meme trend that uses the Me and My People Are Leaving audio sample from The Walking Dead to show that when a party or gathering doesn't have something considered integral, the person or group will be leaving (often referencing various nationality stereotypes). The TikTok lip-dub format has been used for simple things such as having the wrong type of food to more racially insensitive topics since first appearing in mid-May 2023.

Origin

One of the earliest examples of the trend was posted on May 14th, 2023, by TikToker st6rmss^[1] in which they imitated the scene from The Walking Dead with a water gun, saying that if the TikToker c00kiek1ng isn't at the function, they were leaving, earning over 660 likes in two weeks and helping popularize the trend (shown below).

@st6rmss Me and my people are leavin😎😎🙏🙏🔥🔥💯💯 @COOKIE🦸🏻‍♂️ @CookieTWD 🧟‍♂️ #fyp #edit #vsp #real #relatable #pov #povedit #cookieking #c00kiek1ng #cookietwd #twd #thewalkingdead #rickgrimes ♬ original sound – st6rms

Spread

On May 20th, 2023, TikToker breadeater236^[2] uploaded a TikTok video of the scene from The Walking Dead in which the audio comes from, adding a racial stereotype twist on it by saying "basketball people when there is no fried chicken or watermelon at the function," earning over 360,000 likes in five days (shown below).

@breadeater236 Me and my people are leaving#fyp #twd #thewalkingdead #twdedit #rick #rickgrimes #meandmypeopleareleaving #basketball #basketballpeople #kfc #friedchicken #chicken #watermelon #viral #relatable #function #funny #negan ♬ alkuperäinen ääni – Chuck Mcgill

This racial angle was then greatly expanded on in the following days, with TikToker arab_b0i3^[3] uploading a version on May 23rd in which he has a blanket over his head pretending to be a head scarf while captioning the video "C4 people when the function doesn't have oil or towers that look the same," earning over 21,000 likes in two days (shown below).

@arab_b0i3 #joke #fyp ♬ original sound – zeux

When The Function Got Hennessy

When The Function Got Hennessy is a series of image macros using the caption "when the function got Hennessy" along with an unrelated, often nonsensical, image. The earliest known version of the meme was posted to FunVizeo in February 2021 and gained viral spread over the following year, possibly helping to spawn this variation.