Jackie Kennedy Eating Sheet Metal memes and jokes about former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy have spread across social media in recent months, implying Kennedy is feral and ingested non-edible objects such as sheet metal. Dark humor has been injected into the beloved public figure's legacy in recent years, and the memes surrounding her have gone viral for their absurdity.
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, later Jackie Onassis, was a beloved public figure inside and outside politics. She has long been considered a style icon and an example of a graceful and powerful woman. Perhaps because she's been so revered for so long, Gen Z began to wonder across social media -- why her?
Criticism of Jackie Kennedy began in June 2019, with discussions comparing her to then-First Lady Melania Trump. The conversation first began when Melania Trump redesigned Kennedy's iconic rose garden, a tribute to her late husband, former president John F. Kennedy, after his assassination in 1963. Her husband, former President Donald Trump, then compared the two First Ladies in a 2021 interview with Fox & Friends, saying, "We have our own Jackie O today. It's called Melania. Melania ... we'll call her Melania T! OK?"
Discourse coursed as social media users discussed the similarities and differences between the two women, and attacks on Jackie Kennedy's legacy began.
As the conversation on social media continued into the following year, the attacks became directed more at Kennedy's appearance. In response to photos of her in her wedding dress, shared along with a history of the dress in June 2020, X user @y2kangell wrote, "This hammerhead shark is so damn ugly."
In August 2020, X user @BhadDhad compared Kennedy to "Sid from Ice Age" in a viral tweet. Two months later, a since-deleted tweet went viral for showing "Jackie Kennedy ugly" in their previous searches.
The jab brought attention to Kennedy's teeth, which became the subject of further memes when, in November 2020, X user @usedwifi shared a tweet of a distorted image of Kennedy, exaggerating the size and number of teeth, along with the phrase "JACKIE WANT SHEET METAL."
The phrase took off within the memes discussing Kennedy's appearance, with some even criticizing JFK's looks and implying he had a feral look about him as well.
In 2022, Gen Z TikTokers became familiar with the Jackie Kennedy Sheet Metal memes. It wasn't long until they began to make the joke their own. TikTokres paired images and videos of Kennedy with existing sounds on the platform, many of which mimic chewing or gnashing.
One TikToker, @motheroftarot, paired animalistic chewing sounds with a wax figure of the late former First Lady.
Others went back and looked for photos of Kennedy where her teeth are caught at an awkward angle. The shots that feature a pronounced smile often zero in on the shape of her teeth.