A new edgy meme called, "The Lion Rapes Anything That Speaks," has gone viral this month, centering on an ironic "hustle culture" photo-quote that takes alpha male glazing a step too far.

The first image read, "The lion rapes the small dog when it barks," showing a male lion in a black-and-white filter seemingly contemplating the quote's meaning.

The joke has quickly mutated on TikTok this week, where creators are sharing vague photo slideshows that are confusing those unaware of the original "The Lion" meme.

So, where did this image come from? Where did the meme trend start? How has it spread to TikTok, and why do people find it funny? Let's explain.

Where Did The 'The Lion Rapes The Small Dog When It Barks' Meme Come From?

This meme started with an earnest sigma grindset post that read, "The lion does not turn around when the small dog barks." The idiom hypes up the powerful lion, portraying his size and strength as a reason not to acknowledge the lesser being.

Last November, an unknown meme creator recaptioned the quote's phrasal template, subverting the original image's overdramatic tone by likening its "alpha" mentality to sexual assault.

The image popped up on Reddit and Instagram, but again, its creator has not been discovered yet.

How Has The 'The Lion' Meme Evolved On TikTok?

As stated, the meme is not that old. It only started circulating in November, so its new evolutions are truly a 2025 trend.

One of the meme's first variations reversed its dark messaging, instead reading, "The lion understands the importance of consent and respects the bodily autonomy of the small dog." The spin-off was the first of many to come.

The meme has recently exploded on TikTok. Most people on the platform are using this one audio that's a phonk song, akin to many other "sigma" memes like Patrick Bateman and the Joker with Lightning Eyes.

Anyway, the meme went largely viral on the new platform when memes using the phrasal template, "The lion does not concern himself with X," started appearing. The "X" was replaced with "Albanians," for instance, playing into the ironic Balkan memes that light-heartedly express the animosity held in the region.

The iterations quickly became more absurd, as "The Lion" was used to promote the most heinous or minuscule of transgressions. "A lion doesn't tip minimum wage workers," said one viral post, playing into jokes about so-called "iPad tipping."

Why Do People Find 'The Lion Rapes Anything That Speaks' Funny?

The meme format is objectively dark and edgy, as it's used to make rape jokes and promote other crimes, both civil and moral. But it's hard to say with 100 percent certainty that these memes are actually promoting the acts "The Lion" does.

One could argue that the memes automatically discredit the violence they seemingly spread via hyperbole and satire.

Similar trends like memes that ironically promote drunk driving and gambling also rely on the same mechanism that glorifies the bad to promote the good.

On top of all this, "The Lion" memes take a stab at so-called "sigma males," whom the original "The lion does not turn around when the small dog barks" post was likely catered to.

A "sigma male" is a supposed classification for men who are successful and popular but also silent and rebellious — a type of man who likes to "play by his own rules." The term was invented to make introverted men feel like they were the lion instead of the apparent "alpha" in their friend group.

There have been a lot of inspirational photo quotes catered towards sigma males over the years, and many of them have been turned into memes.

A short list includes "We Are Not the Same," "Invest in Rare Fish" and "If You're 20-30 and Your Main Circle Isn't Discussing X." All effectively call sigma males "corny" and "cringe," mocking their inner-imagined dominance.

"The Lion Rapes Anything That Speaks" is an extreme version of its predecessors, operating on the same anti-sigma wavelength.

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For the full history of The Lion Rapes Anything That Speaks, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.