About

She Knew They Were Washed refers to a copypasta used to joke about an entity, usually an athlete or rapper, being washed, aka "Washed Up." While it's taken several forms, the most prevalent iteration involved a mom asking their child if they'd done the dishes, to which the child replies with the name of the person they're making fun of, ending with the mom smiling because "she knew" the dishes "were washed."

Origin

While it's unclear when exactly the copypasta started, the earliest known iteration was posted on March 4th, 2022, by Twitter / X user @ru1n3w.^[1] In their example, they ask the workers at a laundromat about their clothes and they respond "Kid Cudi," leading them to know the clothes were washed. The post gained three likes in two years.

Spread

Over the following years, the copypasta was widely reposted on social media, most often appearing with the set up of a mom asking her child to wash the dishes.

For example, on November 20th, 2022, Twitter user @slowcarscharles^[2] posted that variation in a joke about F1 racer Lewis Hamilton, gaining over 40 retweets and 500 likes (shown below, left). On July 26th, 2023, user @trilliontickets^[3] posted an example making fun of the MCU, gaining over 420 retweets and 6,500 likes (shown below, right).

The meme is particularly prominent in the sports fandom and has been popularly applied to older players. For example, on April 17th, 2024, Twitter user @DogDoncic^[4] used it in reference to Klay Thompson, gaining over 200 retweets and 4,000 likes in one day (shown below, left).

On March 14th, Twitter user @FeelLikeMafe^[5] posted an example with football player Deebo Samuel, gaining over 400 retweets and 5,900 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References