What is Ah, Yes. The Negotiator?

It is a reaction image of a cloaked General Grievous from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, captioned with his line 'Ah, yes, the negotiator' and used to mock bad-faith arguments.

Where did Ah, Yes. The Negotiator come from?

The still is from the bridge scene in Revenge of the Sith (2005), where Grievous greets a captured Obi-Wan Kenobi with the line. The meme format first showed up on r/PrequelMemes in January 2018.

What does Ah, Yes. The Negotiator mean?

It is a sarcastic response to something presented as a negotiation that is actually an insult, ultimatum, or bad-faith reply, such as answering a well-written argument with 'kill yourself'.

How do you use Ah, Yes. The Negotiator?

Place the screenshot or quote you want to mock above the Grievous still, with the caption 'Ah, yes, the negotiator' underneath, as in the Diplomatic Dankness Facebook variant from April 2018.

Is Ah, Yes. The Negotiator still popular?

After its 2018 run on r/PrequelMemes, the format saw renewed usage in early 2020 when posts like u/CrBratton's r/memes entry earned more than 35,000 upvotes and a Reddit award.

Ah, Yes. The Negotiator

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Published November 12, 2026

Ah, Yes. The Negotiator is a reaction image of a cloaked General Grievous from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, paired with his line greeting Obi-Wan Kenobi aboard a Separatist starship. Users on r/PrequelMemes began posting it in January 2018 as a sarcastic answer to bad-faith 'negotiations,' and by February 2020 fresh variants were hitting the r/memes front page with upwards of 40,000 upvotes.

prequel memes movie quote memes reaction memes sarcasm memes dismissal memes

Overview

A typical Ah, Yes. The Negotiator post stacks a quoted argument or screenshot on top, with the still of a hooded Grievous staring forward and the caption 'Ah, yes, the negotiator' underneath1. The joke works because the thing being quoted is anything but a good-faith bargain, often a weak comeback or a 'kill yourself' reply to a thoughtful argument3.

The still comes from the scene where Anakin and Obi-Wan are marched onto Grievous's bridge, and the cyborg general recognizes Obi-Wan by his wartime nickname 'the Negotiator,' earned for talking enemies down without drawing a lightsaber3. On r/PrequelMemes the format often ran alongside the adjacent Grievous line 'This Will Make a Fine Addition to My Collection,' the next beat in the same scene2.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Reddit (r/PrequelMemes)

Date

2018

The scene behind Ah, Yes. The Negotiator is from Revenge of the Sith (2005), when General Grievous captures Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker during the rescue of Palpatine and turns to say, 'Ah yes, the Negotiator: General Kenobi, we've been waiting for you'3. Obi-Wan's title is Clone Wars canon, given for defusing conflicts through diplomacy rather than combat.

Redditor u/Colinh221 posted one of the earliest known versions to r/PrequelMemes on January 25, 2018, pairing the still with the caption 'When you make a nice well structured argument, and someone replies "kill yourself"'3. That post picked up around 1,500 upvotes and set the template later variants followed.

How It Spread

Ah, Yes. The Negotiator moved onto Facebook by April 13, 2018, when the Diplomatic Dankness page shared a version captioned by George Laios1. Back on Reddit, u/MikeKalav's September 25, 2018 r/PrequelMemes post picked up close to 2,000 upvotes2, and the image reached Imgur in early November and 9GAG on December 3, 2018, where a reposted copy earned 140 points4.

Interest picked up again in early 2020 when fresh takes reached the r/memes front page. A February 2, 2020 post by u/kahyzehnnm titled 'ahh yes the negotiator' passed 40,000 upvotes3, and a follow-up by u/CrBratton earned more than 35,000 upvotes and a Reddit award5.

Timeline

2005

Revenge of the Sith releases the scene where Grievous greets Obi-Wan as 'the Negotiator.'

2018-01-25

Redditor u/Colinh221 posts an early version on r/PrequelMemes captioned about replying 'kill yourself' to a structured argument.

2018-04-13

The Diplomatic Dankness Facebook page shares a George Laios variant, moving the format off Reddit.

2018-09-25

U/MikeKalav's r/PrequelMemes post picks up close to 2,000 upvotes.

2018-12-03

A repost reaches 9GAG and earns 140 points.

2020-02-02

U/kahyzehnnm's r/memes post passes 40,000 upvotes, signaling a wider 2020 revival.

How to Use This Meme

Posts typically place the thing being mocked on top (a screenshot, quote tweet, or chat reply) and the Grievous still with the 'Ah, yes, the negotiator' caption below. Common convention is to use it when someone frames a non-offer, an ultimatum, or an insult as if it were a reasonable deal.