About

Willem Dafoe "He's Gay, But He Has A Special Connection To Classical Music" is a catchphrase taken from a clip of actor Willem Dafoe discussing his character Paul Smecker in the movie The Boondock Saints during an interview in early 2019. In the 2020s, the clip was isolated and taken out of context, then used in memes on TikTok to humorously describe other people and pets.

Origin

On February 15th, 2019, the YouTube channel for GQ released a video on Willem Dafoe breaking down some of his most iconic characters. While discussing the depth of his Boondock Saints character Paul Smecker, Dafoe says, "He's gay, but he has a special connection to classical music" (shown below).

Spread

On January 7th, 2022, TikTok user curlyfries237^[1] uploaded the key moment from Dafoe's GQ interview to TikTok, suggesting it had "sound potential," gaining over 113,000 likes in a year and a half (shown below, left). On February 9th, TikToker thetanglesystem^[4] posted a skit with the sound that gained over 485,000 likes in a similar timeframe (shown below, right).

One year later, the sound began to see common use with videos of pets. On January 1st, 2024, TikToker emilybrawley1^[2] posted it to describe her dog, gaining over 948,000 likes in five months (shown below, right). A January 3rd TikTok posted by @itsamybelle^[3] about her cat gained over 500,000 likes in five months (shown below, right)

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References