About
#LifetimeBeLike and #LifetimeBiopics are hashtags launched by Twitter users as a mocking response to the casting of Lifetime’s 2014 cable TV biopic film Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, which chronicles the life of the deceased American R&B singer Aaliyah Dana Haughton and her rise to teenage stardom during the 1990s.
Origin
On November 15th, 2014, the American cable channel Lifetime premiered Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, a direct-to-TV film detailing the R&B singer’s rise to fame and her ill-fated life, starring actress Alexandra Shipp as the titular recording artist.
That evening, Twitter[13] user Akata Gunde tweeted a photograph of rapper Iggy Azalea with the caption “#LifetimeBeLike Just casted Mariah Carey” (shown below).
Spread
Also on November 15th, 2014, Twitter user @PhilthyPhilly6[4] tweeted a photograph of actor Dwayne Johnson wearing a turtle neck and fanny pack with the caption “#LifetimeBioPics the Queen Latifah story” (shown below).
On November 16th, comedian Orlando Jones tweeted a photograph of himself with the caption “Lifetime be like / Pretty Fly for a White Guy: The Jeff Goldblum Story” (shown below).[2] The same day, Twitter[3] user Kristie Lowe posted a photograph of comedian Whoopi Goldberg juxtaposed with a picture of rapper Lil Wayne with the hashtags “#LifetimeBeLike,” “LifetimeBiopics” and “#AaliyahMovie” (shown below, right).
Also on November 16th, Storify[12] user Luvvie created a compilation of notable “#LiftimeBiopics” and “#LifetimeBeLike” examples. According to the Twitter analytics site Topsy,[1] the hashtags[14][15] received a combined total of over 190,000 mentions in the first 48 hours (shown below). In the coming days, several viral media news sites reported on the trending hashtags, including UpRoxx,[7] AwesomelyLuvvie,[8] Vulture[10] and Crushable,[11] as well as a number of hip hop culture magazines like Vibe,[9] Hip Hop Wired[16] and Complex[17], some of which attributed Black Twitter as the core participatory demographic behind the meme.
Notable Examples
Search Interest
Not available.
External References
[1]Topsy – #LifetimeBiopics #LifetimeBeLike
[2]Twitter – @TheOrlandoJones
[3]Twitter – @kristieLowe_
[4]Twitter – @PhilthyPhilly6
[5]Twitter – #LifetimeBiopics
[6]Twitter – #LifetimeBeLike
[7]Uproxx – #LifetimeBiopics
[8]Awesomely Luvvie – #LifetimeBiopics and #LifetimeBeLike are the Hashtags You Need After the Aaliyah Movie
[9]Vibe – #LifetimeBiopics
[10]Vulture – Twitter Goes Nuts With #LifetimeBiopics
[11]Crushable – The 9 Best Suggestions
[12]Storify – #LifetimeBiopics and #LifetimeBeLike
[13]Twitter – @Ace_PrinceAkeem
[14]Twitter – #LifetimeBiopics
[15]Twitter – #LifetimeBeLike
[16]Hip Hop Wired – Black Twitter Obliterates Aaliyah Biopic, Trending Topics Run Amok [Photos]
[17]Complex – These #LifetimeBeLike Twitter Castings Are as Sad as the Aaliyah Biopic