“Onika Burgers” & “She=Onika Ate=Burgers” Meaning & Origins

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A deep dive into these nonsensical (& hilarious) memes

Co-authored by Devin McSween Reviewed by Rumi Robinson

Last Updated: July 2, 2025 Fact Checked

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Meaning

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Origins

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Usage

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Related Slang & Memes

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Video

If you’ve been on X/Twitter, TikTok, or Instagram over the past few years, you’ve likely seen someone comment “Onika burgers” or “she=onika ate=burgers” on a post. But what exactly are we talking about here? “Onika burgers” and “she=onika ate=burgers” are popular meme phrases that have no real meaning—they’re just meant to be nonsensical and absurd. Read on for an in-depth look into these 2 phrases, including their hilarious origin, how they’re used online, and slang they’re related to!

What does “Onika burgers” mean?

“Onika burgers” and “she=onika ate=burgers” are nonsensical phrases with no real meaning that have become popular memes online. The memes come from replies to a tweet from 2023. One user commented, “Why she ate” and another user replied, “she=onika ate=burgers” in an attempt to insult the rapper Nicki Minaj.

Section 1 of 4:

“Onika Burgers” Meaning

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“Onika burgers” is a nonsensical meme with no real meaning. “Onika burgers,” or “she=onika ate=burgers” is a form of brainrot humor that’s popular on X/Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media sites. Brainrot humor just refers to absurd and meaningless Internet-based memes and phrases that poke fun at being way too online. So, people post and comment “Onika burgers” or “she=onika ate=burgers” to laugh at the ridiculousness of these phrases and to celebrate being a part of Internet culture.^{[1]
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- To really get “Onika burgers,” you have to understand where it comes from. Don’t worry—we’ll discuss the origins of this senseless meme in the section below.

Section 2 of 4:

Where does “Onika Burgers” come from?

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“Onika burgers” comes from two X/Twitter users’ replies to a tweet. On February 14, 2023, user @PopBase posted a tweet of a drawing that North West (Kim Kardashian’s daughter) drew of her grandmother, Kris Jenner. In the next few hours, the following series of events took place:^{[2]
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- User @noahsrev replied to the tweet, saying, “Why she ate” (Translation: “Wow, North West did a great job drawing her grandmother”).
- User @sexxtbook, an anti-Nicki Minaj fan, replied to @noahsrev saying “she=onika ate=burgers.” Onika is Nicki Minaj’s real first name, so @sexxtbook was derogatorily referring to the rapper and attempting to make a negative comment about her weight.
- Unfortunately, @sexxtbook’s insult didn’t make much sense. When other X/Twitter users saw their reply, they plugged it into @noahsrev comment (“Why she ate”) and got “Why onika burgers.” Thus, both of the nonsensical phrases were born.
- To add to the ridiculousness, neither the original tweet nor @noahsrev’s reply to it was about Nicki Minaj. So, @sexxtbook’s reply was totally unprompted (and hilarious)!
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Stan Twitter picked up the meme and made it popular online. User @sexxtbook’s reply (“she=onika ate=burgers”) earned over 3,000 likes, and later that day, user @remy4real23 tweeted a screenshot of the reply, which generated over 34,000 likes. “She=onika ate=burgers” and “Why onika burgers” made the rounds on stan Twitter and slowly seeped into other social media sites like TikTok and Instagram.
- Stan Twitter is a large community on X/Twitter that are fans of certain celebrities and pieces of media, as well as all things pop culture. They’re well known for their absurd phrases and memes, which often make it to mainstream Internet slang.

Section 3 of 4:

How is “Onika Burgers” used?

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People post and comment “Onika burgers” to be funny and absurd. Since “Onika burgers” and “she=onika ate=burgers” have no real meaning, there’s no one specific way to use them. People primarily comment them on social media posts to be a little goofy and reference that they’re chronically online—it’s a brainrot term, after all!
- There’s no one place to use these phrases, either. All posts are free game for a quick “Onika burgers” or “she=onika ate=burgers” comment—the post doesn’t have to reference Nicki Minaj or anything related to the meme.
- Some TikTok users have even taken the meme literally and made real-life Onika burgers (which are just regular hamburgers).
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People apply the “she= ate=” format to other situations. As “she=onika ate=burgers” gained popularity online, people started adding different words to the format to make the meme even more absurd and goofy. People usually use “she= ate=” when replying to a post, comment, or text and use the previous person’s words in the format. There’s no right way to do this and the format doesn’t have to make sense, as it’s meant to be nonsensical!
- Person 1: “OMG, my dog literally ate my homework.”
  Person 2: “she=your dog ate=your homework.”
- Person 1: “Did you hear that Dane and Imari broke up?”
  Person 2: “she=me ate=I don’t care.”
- Person 1: “I got a few things from the store.”
  Person 2: “I=Onika got=ate things=burgers.”

Section 4 of 4:

Related Slang & Memes

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Donatella VERSACE 💜 In 2022, designer Donatella Versace commented “Donatella VERSACE 💜” on an Instagram post by model Bella Hadid. The comment was random and had nothing to do with Hadid’s post, so it quickly became a nonsensical meme and part of the brainrot lexicon. People randomly add “Donatella VERSACE 💜” on other posts to poke fun at the designer’s comment.^{[3]
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- It’s common for people to play with the format of the meme, changing out the words to fit what they’re commenting on. For instance, you might just see someone comment “Onika BURGERS 💜.”
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Mama, a girl behind you In 2024, a Snapchat video by Keirra Denee' Smith (which she filmed in 2018) went viral on TikTok. In the video, Smith’s son films her while an animated character from a filter dances behind her. He then comments, “Mama, a girl behind you,” confusing his mother, who believes a real person is behind her.^{[4]
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- The video quickly became a meme, with many TikTok users recreating the video.
- People also commonly comment “Mama, a __ behind you” on other people’s posts, changing out “girl” with something else that may be literally or figuratively behind them (like “a dog” or “a bad week”).
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Slay the house down boots Unlike some of the other stan Twitter/brainrot terms, “slay the house down boots” does have a clear meaning! This is an over-the-top and humorous way to say that someone did something amazingly or flawlessly, like rocking a chic outfit or baking a delicious meal.^{[5]
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- “You in that dress? Slays the house down boots.”
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What I do? In 2024, a clip from a YouTube video posted by Funny Macro in 2019 went viral. In the video, Funny Macro pranks people in a store by accusing them of doing something. When he confronts one woman, she responds, “What I do?” in a thick southern accent using AAVE (African American Vernacular English) slang. Her response immediately entered the brainrot dictionary and is featured in many memes.^{[6]
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- One popular meme combines “What I do?” with “Donatella VERSACE 💜,” with people pasting “what I DO 💜” on reaction images and memes.