Viral ‘What’s a father’ meme explained as XXXTentacion interview resurfaces
TIKTOK: atrop1xThe ‘What’s a father’ meme is going viral on TikTok and other social media platforms, after an interview with XXXTentacion resurfaced.
The ‘What’s a father’ meme stems from an old clip of the late rapper XXXTentacion, where he gives a blunt, poignant response to a personal question.
This video has since been reinterpreted humorously, sparking widespread memes across TikTok and X in early 2025. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
‘What’s a father’ meme origin
On November 22, 2022, The Fader released ‘In His Own Words: XXXTentacion,’ an unreleased interview from 2017. At the 31:24 mark, the interviewer asks XXXTentacion, “Do you have any relationship with your father?” The rapper stares blankly before replying, “What’s that? What’s a father?”
Initially intended as a raw moment reflecting the rapper’s troubled past, the clip gained traction as it was reposted over the years. By early 2025, it resurfaced and became widely mocked for being overly dramatic and “cringe.”
XXXTentacion interview sparks viral meme
The meme’s viral breakout began on January 31, 2025, when X user dearwfe tweeted, “XXXTentacion was corny as hell when he was alive,” receiving over 36,000 likes.
Later that day, dearwfe quote-tweeted themselves, attaching Instagram user mistxxked’s Reel of the interview and captioning it, “Like bruh.” The post amassed over 13 million views and 167,000 likes.
On February 2, X user slayworldalby escalated the meme’s popularity with a screencap of XXXTentacion’s blank stare. The caption replaced the original quote in a snowclone format: “Do you know who Big Chungus is?” followed by, “What’s that [broken heart emoji]? What’s a Big Chungus?”
The meme quickly spread to TikTok, where users re-created or parodied the clip. TikToker whiteboykiann shared a ‘99.99% Accuracy Reenactment’ on February 2, garnering over 200,000 likes.
Meanwhile, TikToker xojunior incorporated the phrase into other popular formats, introducing the abbreviation “WAF” (short for “What’s a Father?”).
Their clip amassed over 932,000 views and more than 192,000 likes, with commenters either scratching their heads in confusion or fully embracing the joke.
The meme continues to trend, with more and more creators putting their own spin on it. While the original clip had a serious tone, its viral reinterpretation has transformed it into a staple of internet comedy in 2025.
It is just one of the many trends gaining traction on TikTok, alongside the hilarious ‘Here I Am’ Camp Rock challenge and the quirky ‘Money Talks’ fad.