What Is The 'Lion The Witch And The Audacity' Meme? The Viral 'Chronicles Of Narnia' Memes Explained

The Chronicles of Narnia is a massively popular series of books and films and it's inspired a number of memes over the years. One of the most popular examples is a reaction image and catchphrase meme known as "The Lion, the Witch and the Audacity of This B---h," a play on the title of one of the series' entries. But where did the meme come from and how exactly is it used online? Here's what you need to know.

What Is 'The Lion, The Witch, And The Audacity Of This B---h' Meme?

Back in 2019, the Facebook page The Eternal Dreamers made a simple graphical text post featuring the phrase "The lion, the witch, and the audacity of this b---h" that garnered over 28,000 shares over the next five years. The post is a play on the titled of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, an entry in the wildly popular Chronicles of Narnia series.

In this case, the caption is being used as a comedic insult towards nobody in particular to question the audacity of someone. Audacity is a term defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints." As the post was shared on Facebook, it soon gained viral spread, inspiring memes.

How Is 'The Lion, The Witch, And The Audacity Of This B---h' Used In Memes?

The meme really started to take off in 2020 after the caption was attached to an edit of the movie poster for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It's most often used as a reaction image, in which the image is edited underneath another image or screenshot that describes someone, usually a woman, expressing an unfavorable or unfair opinion.

For example, the earliest known example is attached to a purported quote from Jada Pinkett Smith about not allowing your husband to get in the way of finding the love of your life. Since then, it's been attached to countless memes in which women share questionable takes and opinions, such as "men shorter than 5'9 are useless" or quotes justifying cheating.

For the full history of "The Lion, the Witch and the Audacity…" meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.