But Can You Do This

2017catchphraseclassic

But Can You Do This is a PewDiePie catchphrase from late 2017, uttered while reclining in his signature Clutch Chairz gaming chair as a joke rebuttal. Fans turned it into a running gag mocking the chair's high price and PewDiePie's smug delivery.

Overview

But Can You Do This is a catchphrase from Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie, delivered while leaning back in his signature reclining gaming chair as a mock retort to any criticism. The chair itself was a PewDiePie Edition model built in collaboration with Clutch Chairz, marketed with high-density foam, dura-soft leather, and an ergonomic lumbar cushion1. Fans seized on the line as an in-joke about the chair's steep price, using it whenever they wanted to poke fun at Pewds for flexing an expensive piece of furniture2.

The format is simple: someone makes a point, and the reply is But Can You Do This paired with a dramatic recline. Because the joke only works if the responder has literally nothing better to say, it doubles as a self-own, which is a big part of why the bit stuck around in PewDiePie's fan community2.

How It Spread

About a month later, PewDiePie brought the bit back in his December 11th, 2017 video The REAL reason I wasnt in YouTube Rewind, and from that point on the line kept showing up in his uploads2. Once it was a repeat joke, remix channels moved in. YouTuber Ultim3te Highlights posted an edited compilation on December 22nd, 2017, and Day By Dave dropped a musical remix on January 9th, 20182.

Reddit's r/PewdiepieSubmissions ran with the format too. On January 7th, 2018, user KeWirth mashed the line up with the Somebody Toucha My Spaghetto meme, pulling in more than 1,800 upvotes, while a post by user kartik727 collected over 1,600 upvotes around the same time2. Urban Dictionary entries from the same window defined the phrase as a way to shut down an argument by rolling back in a chair when you have no real counter3.

How to Use This Meme

The template typically pairs the phrase with an image or short clip of someone leaning back dramatically in a chair, often in reply to a serious argument or an insult they can't answer. A common convention is to caption the recline moment with But Can You Do This in all caps, framing the response as a smug flex that's obviously not a real rebuttal3.

Frequently Asked Questions