Zendaya has addressed the viral Zendaya Hat Theory, saying she was just as “confused” by the “brain rot” conspiracy that overtook the internet as the rest of us.
ICYMI, Zendaya unlocked a conspiracy back in 2014 when she wore a large black top hat to the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party.
The sheer size of the cartoonish hat lent itself to instant memes, which quickly turned into playful speculation that the hat, through its all-knowing force, held all kinds of powers — from kickstarting a new timeline in the universe to secretly hiding her partner Tom Holland.
The theory was reawakened last year when Zendaya wore another big hat to the Met Gala, prompting the algorithm to again spit out bizarre claims about the actresses headwear.
Basically, Zendaya’s hat became pure meme fodder, and while you might think she’d be above such brain rot, the star has actually seen all the bizarre chatter.
“It was a very chronically online thing,” Zendaya told Vogue in an interview with her The Drama co-star Robert Pattinson. “I was confused by the Hat Theory thing.”
Zendaya admitted that the “purpose of [the Hat Theory] is that it doesn’t make sense” before explaining what led us all here: “I wore a hat once”.
“I can’t explain it because it doesn’t make sense. It’s like classic brain rot. I don’t understand it. It makes me feel very out of touch,” Zendaya explained.
It seemed as though Robert was hearing of the theory for the first time, since he looked surprised when Zendaya mentioned the claims that “Tom lives in the hat” or that she “has a dark version of myself that’s taken over once I wore the hat”.
“I don’t know girl,” Zendaya said, “the internet is a weird place”. Did she lie?
Zendaya’s mention of the theory will probably only fuel further conspiracies, but at least we know she’s just as chronically online as the rest of us.
Interestingly, the Hat Theory isn’t the only meme born from the Teen Vogue Party. If you recall, that red carpet was where Selena Gomez famously wore her “edgy” blue-haired look, and where Debby Ryan “sat down with the president of Disney Channel and said ‘I want to make history’, and that’s what this is”.
It comes as Zendaya and Robert continue their press tour for The Drama, the buzzy wedding flick that has already copped backlash over its grim leaked plot twist.
We’ll have to wait and see whether Zendaya wears a hat in the movie, but I fear the For You Page will never recover if she does. In the meantime, reminisce on some of the best Hat Theory memes below.
Lead images: Getty, Vogue and TikTok
