What Is The New 'Dahmer' Meme, And What Does He Want You To Watch?

If you know anything about the modern human condition, you know that people are obsessed with true crime and serial killers. From podcasts to TV shows, there's no dearth of crime content meant to give you the heebie-jeebies. Netflix's new TV show panders to just that need, despite receiving backlash from critics and families of notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's victims. Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a show where the eponymous killer is played by Evan Peters, and like any piece of media trending on the internet, it has sprung a gold mine of memes.

Where Does "I Told You We Are Going to Watch X and Then You Can Leave" Come From?

"I told you we are going to watch X and then you can leave" is a meme that emerged out of a scene in the very first episode of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Dahmer kidnaps a victim from a gay bar and holds him at knifepoint while setting up the TV, going on to say the line, "I told you. We're gonna hang out, gonna watch a movie. Gonna take some pictures. And then I'll pay you." The movie he sets up appears to be the original 1973 horror film, The Exorcist.

How Is "I Told You We Are Going to Watch X and Then You Can Leave" Used In Memes?

The scene in question is used in both image and video form, and is often used to show a funny or ironically enjoyable piece of media. For example, one of the first iterations of the meme showed a poster for the highly memeable Shrek film. Around the same time, the meme was also used to display a still from the iconic Barbie: Swan Lake movie, which is definitely something only a serial killer would make someone watch.

The meme then evolved into video format and went viral on TikTok. The first few TikToks to use the format were just as bizarre as their JPEG predecessors, with people putting themselves in Dahmer's shoes as they show their girlfriend their Call Of Duty highlight reels, or force someone to watch TikToks of their dog.

Where Can I Use "I Told You We Are Going to Watch X and Then You Can Leave"?

You can use the meme if you have a morbid sense of humor and don't mind using the likeness of a notorious serial killer for a silly joke. It appears that edits of the meme take two forms; they either depict something only a serial killer would make you watch, or they imagine the meme-maker to be the serial killer showing someone a special piece of media. Either way, the meme format is versatile enough to be funny regardless of the edit.

How do you use the phrase "I Told You We Are Going to Watch X and Then You Can Leave" in a sentence?

• "I told you. We're gonna watch /r/kidsgettinghurt videos. And then you can leave."
• "I told you. We're gonna watch "10 Hour Nyan Cat Loop" on YouTube. And then you can leave."
• "I told you. We're gonna watch every Disney movie. And then you can leave."

For the full history of I told you we are going to watch X and then you can leave and even more memes, check out our entry on the topic here.