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As far as we know, it all started with an innocuous animated GIF of a chubby little fop with a confident stride. The gif quickly morphed into a series of image macro photoshops with the following characteristics:

1. The subject must be in mid-stride or engaged in some kind of linear motion, as though saying "I'm on my way to the top, just try to stop me."

2. The subject must have some ridiculous characteristic, like a goofy hat or a zany unicycle. This emphasizes the idea that the hatee has a reason to be hated on.

3. The caption "Haters Gonna Hate" or a similar phrase must be included. The phrase originates from hip-hop culture, most notably 3LW's song 'Playas Gon' Play.' It denotes self-assured indifference to the "hate" of others. It's another way of saying, "I might look silly, but I don't care what other people think of me so I'm going to hold my head high."

After the jump, some of our favorite "Haters Gonna Hate" images and, remember, they're just jealous of your swagger.


haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

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haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate

haters gonna hate