# Freemelania Freemelania is a joke hashtag campaign that started at Donald Trump's January 2017 inauguration, built around the premise that Melania Trump is secretly a prisoner in her marriage. Users read her facial expressions and gestures as coded pleas for rescue, with #FreeMelania and #SaveMelania attached to photos where she appeared uncomfortable next to her husband. ## Origin The joke started at Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th, 2017[3]. Cameras caught Melania Trump briefly smiling at her husband and then flattening her expression the instant he turned away, and the short clip spread online within hours as viewers argued the split-second frown proved she was unhappy in the marriage[3]. - **Platform:** Twitter / Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2017 ## Overview Freemelania (usually stylized as #FreeMelania or #SaveMelania) is a set of joke hashtags built around the idea that First Lady Melania Trump is a captive in her marriage to Donald Trump[1]. The premise is that she is trapped and secretly signaling for rescue, with people reading her facial expressions, gifts, and body language as coded distress calls[3]. The joke plays out through photos and short clips where viewers claim to spot hidden pleas: a dropped smile, a slow blink, a wrapped box with the word "Help" scrawled on it[2]. It sits somewhere between partisan commentary and absurdist humor, with the hashtags working as a punchline attached to almost any image of Melania appearing stiff or unhappy near her husband[3]. ## How It Spread The next day, Twitter user @natalieroth posted a photo from a Women's March showing a protest sign that read "Melania Blink For Help" on the back, tagging it #SaveMelania[1]. Two days later, on January 23rd, @SuttonOfficial tweeted #FreeMelania alongside a photo of Melania handing Michelle Obama a Tiffany gift box that fans framed as containing the word "Help"[2]. The same day, the YouTube channel Yes It's Funny uploaded an edited version of that gift exchange in which the box opens to reveal a cake iced with "Help Save Me"[5]. A GIF of the doctored clip hit Reddit's r/gifs and pulled in more than 61,000 votes at 74% upvoted, along with roughly 2,000 comments inside its first 48 hours[4]. On January 24th, Twitter user @Istanbul_Themes reposted the original inauguration clip with the caption "#FreeMelania Blink twice if you want us to save you," locking in the coded-signal framing that shaped most later posts[3]. From there the hashtags kept surfacing whenever a fresh photo of Melania looking uneasy near Trump made the rounds. ## How to Use People typically attach #FreeMelania or #SaveMelania to a photo or short clip where Melania Trump looks uncomfortable, distant, or grim next to her husband. A common convention is to caption the post as if she is sending a coded signal, often citing a specific blink, glance, wardrobe choice, or object she is holding as the supposed distress cue[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Freemelania? Freemelania is a set of joke hashtags (#FreeMelania and #SaveMelania) claiming Melania Trump is trapped in her marriage to Donald Trump and secretly signaling for rescue[1]. ### Where did Freemelania come from? It started around Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th, 2017, after cameras caught Melania briefly smiling and then dropping the expression when he turned away[3]. ### What does Freemelania mean? It is shorthand for reading Melania Trump's facial expressions, gestures, and gifts as coded pleas for help, played mostly for jokes rather than as literal claims[2]. ### How do you use Freemelania? People typically attach the hashtag to photos or clips of Melania looking uneasy near Trump, framing a specific blink or gesture as her secret signal, such as the January 24th, 2017 "blink twice" post[3]. ### Is Freemelania still popular? The hashtags peaked in the days after the January 2017 inauguration, when the r/gifs edit of the Tiffany box pulled in over 61,000 votes in 48 hours, and have since resurfaced mainly around new Trump-Melania photo moments[4]. ## References 1. [https://twitter.com/natalieroth]() 2. [https://twitter.com/SuttonOfficial]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/freemelania]() 4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZxsNexkTfU]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/freemelania Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library