# Kermit Sipping Tea > Kermit Sipping Tea, or "But That's None of My Business," is a 2014 image-macro meme featuring Kermit the Frog drinking Lipton iced tea with sardonic captions about others' behavior. "But That's None of My Business," also known as Kermit Sipping Tea, is an image macro meme featuring Kermit the Frog drinking a cup of Lipton iced tea, paired with a passive-aggressive observation about someone else's behavior. The format exploded on Instagram and Twitter in June 2014, becoming one of that year's defining memes. After fading in early 2015, the meme got a rare second life in June 2016 when LeBron James wore a Kermit sipping tea hat after winning the NBA Finals. ## Origin The source image comes from a Lipton Tea advertising campaign featuring Kermit the Frog. The campaign first aired during the 2014 Academy Awards and encouraged people to "be more tea," meaning more kind[5]. The irony of Kermit's tea-drinking image being repurposed for maximum shade was apparently lost on no one. As early as January 2014, Instagram users began posting captioned images of Kermit with the hashtag #kermitmemes[4]. But the meme didn't find its true form until June 2014. On June 17th, the Instagram account @kermitbelike posted what appears to be the earliest known image macro pairing Kermit with the phrase "that's none of my business"[4]. Three days later, on June 20th, the dedicated Instagram feed @thatsnoneofmybusinesstho launched, posting nothing but Kermit images with "none of my business" captions[2]. In its first four days, the account pulled in over 130,000 followers[4]. - **Platform:** Instagram (viral spread), Lipton Tea commercial (source image) - **Creator:** Unknown (community-created from Lipton Tea ad), @kermitbelike (earliest known image macro), @thatsnoneofmybusinesstho (key Instagram feed) - **Date:** 2014 ## Overview The meme uses a still of Kermit the Frog casually sipping from a cup of Lipton iced tea. The top text delivers a pointed, usually shady observation about someone's behavior, hypocrisy, or poor life choices. The bottom text closes with "But that's none of my business," giving the whole thing a tone of performative indifference. Kermit isn't starting drama. He's just noting it while calmly drinking his tea[2]. The genius of the format is its simplicity. As The Verge put it, the meme "had the structural depth of a knock-knock joke": take an image of Kermit, add an insult, and close with the same passive-aggressive punchline[1]. That low barrier to entry made it spread fast and adapt to practically any social situation, from calling out cheating partners to mocking bad fashion choices to commenting on political scandals[3]. ## How It Spread The meme moved fast across platforms in late June 2014. On the same day @thatsnoneofmybusinesstho launched, Twitter users started tweeting jokes with the hashtags #NoneOfMyBusiness and #Kermit, which hit over 19,000 and 11,000 mentions respectively within four days[4]. On June 22nd, a Tumblr blog called "Kermit the Snitch" appeared, collecting the best examples of the format[4]. The next day, YouTuber Bugatti Beez uploaded a video of Kermit reading notable "But That's None of My Business" captions, pulling 100,000 views and 480 comments in the first 24 hours[4]. The meme's targets ranged widely. Infidelity, bad parenting, social media fakeness, questionable fashion. Kermit became what Uproxx described as "a shaming, passive aggressive mouthpiece for meme creators who want to call out individuals living foul"[3]. Though often rude, most versions critiqued common social norms and everyday behavior rather than targeting specific people[6]. By early 2015, usage had declined. Like most memes, it plateaued as its function shifted from fresh joke format to referential callback[1]. It drifted into the territory of Facebook political posts, which is essentially a meme's retirement home. Then came the second wave. On June 19, 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA Finals, with the Cavaliers becoming only the third team in league history to come back from a 3-1 deficit[8]. LeBron James made a statement without saying a word. He walked out of a press conference wearing a backward cap embroidered with Kermit sipping tea[8]. When he later boarded the plane home sporting the hat alongside an "Ultimate Warrior" t-shirt, the message was unmistakable: "We just beat the best team in basketball. But that's none of my business"[1]. James doubled down on Instagram, posting a photo of the hat with a long caption calling out every critic who had ever doubted him, closing with "THATS NONE OF MY BUSINESS"[10]. On eBay, over a thousand similar Kermit hats went on sale within days[1]. The meme was alive again. ## How to Use The format is straightforward: 1. Pick a behavior, situation, or hypocrisy you want to call out 2. Write a pointed observation as the top text (e.g., "People who post inspirational quotes but can't hold down a job") 3. Add the Kermit sipping tea image 4. Close with "But that's none of my business" as the bottom text ## Cultural Impact The LeBron James hat moment in June 2016 gave the meme a mainstream visibility boost that few internet formats ever achieve. Over a thousand Kermit sipping tea hats sold on eBay within days, manufactured by small entrepreneurs with what The Verge described as "the production speed of first responders"[1]. Major sports outlets covered the hat as a legitimate story, not just an internet curiosity[8][9][10]. The Good Morning America #tealizard incident became a case study in how mainstream media struggles with meme culture. The story was covered by The Verge, Mashable, Mediaite, and AOL, turning a single bad tweet into a days-long news cycle about the gap between internet natives and traditional media[11][7]. The meme also connects to the broader "tea" slang ecosystem, where "spilling tea" means sharing gossip and "sipping tea" means watching drama without getting involved. Kermit's image became the default visual shorthand for both meanings[5]. ## Fun Facts - The Lipton Tea ad that spawned the meme was originally meant to promote kindness, with the tagline "be more tea." The internet turned it into the ultimate tool for throwing shade[5]. - An ABC insider confirmed to Mediaite that the #tealizard name came from a Weird Twitter parody account's tweet five months earlier, not from GMA's own staff[11]. - Kermit the Frog was created by Jim Henson in 1955 and was originally a vague lizard-like creature before being established as a frog in 1969, making the "tea lizard" gaffe accidentally closer to his origins than anyone realized[12]. - The @thatsnoneofmybusinesstho Instagram account gained 130,000 followers in just four days after launching[4]. - LeBron wore the Kermit hat *before* Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, not after. He was trash-talking via meme before his team had even clinched the championship[8]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Kermit Sipping Tea? Kermit Sipping Tea is an image macro meme featuring Kermit the Frog drinking Lipton iced tea, paired with a passive-aggressive observation followed by the phrase "But that's none of my business." The format is used to call out hypocrisy or questionable behavior while maintaining fake indifference[2]. ### Where did Kermit Sipping Tea come from? The source image comes from a 2014 Lipton Tea commercial featuring Kermit that first aired during the Academy Awards. Instagram users began pairing the image with snarky captions in early 2014, with the format going viral in June 2014[5][4]. ### What does Kermit Sipping Tea mean? It can mean two things: a sarcastic closer after pointing out someone's flaws, or a signal that you're content to watch drama unfold without getting involved. Both meanings relate to "tea" as slang for gossip[5]. ### How do you use Kermit Sipping Tea? Write a pointed observation about someone's behavior, add the Kermit tea image, and close with "But that's none of my business." You can also post just the image or GIF as a reaction to drama[6]. ### Is Kermit Sipping Tea still popular? The meme peaked in 2014 and saw a major revival in 2016 thanks to LeBron James. It's now a classic format that most internet users recognize, and the Kermit tea image still gets used as a reaction GIF[1]. ### Why did LeBron James wear a Kermit hat? After the Cleveland Cavaliers' historic NBA Finals comeback against the Golden State Warriors in June 2016, LeBron wore the hat to throw shade at everyone who doubted his team, pairing it with an Instagram post listing all the criticisms he'd received[10][8]. ### What is #TeaLizard? On June 21, 2016, Good Morning America's Twitter account referred to the Kermit Sipping Tea meme as "#tealizard," sparking widespread mockery. An ABC insider later told Mediaite the name came from a Weird Twitter parody account's earlier tweet[11]. ### Why did people get mad at Good Morning America? Beyond getting Kermit's species wrong (he's a frog, not a lizard), people noted that ABC's parent company Disney literally owns the Muppets franchise, making the mistake even more embarrassing[7]. ### What was the original Lipton Tea commercial? The 2014 Lipton campaign showed Kermit drinking tea as a way to stay calm, with the tagline encouraging people to "be more tea." The irony of this image being used for shade was not lost on the internet[5]. ### What is the connection between "tea" and gossip? "Spilling the tea" as slang for gossiping has roots in Southern tea party culture and the drag community. Kermit drinking tea while delivering commentary created a visual pun that worked on multiple levels[5]. ## References 1. [Kermit The Frog Meme ‘But That’s None Of My Business’ Is Amazing]() 2. [2014’s best meme returns, only to be brutalized by TV morning show | The Verge]() 3. [Some maniac at Good Morning America called Kermit the Frog 'Tea Lizard' | Mashable]() 4. [Kermit Sipping Tea - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Kermit the Frog]() 6. [History & Meaning Of The Kermit Sipping Tea Meme | YourTango]() 7. [What Is The Kermit Sipping Tea Meme? A History Of This Muppet's Shade]() 8. [Funny Kermit the Frog Memes | Daily Dot]() 9. [Instagram photos for tag #kermitmemes | Iconosquare]() 10. [#muppets#themuppets#kermitmemes#kermit#meme#logic#followme#dat_satisfying_pancak... | Iconosquare]() 11. [but+that's+none+of+my+business | Tumblr]() 12. [LeBron James Rocks Hat with 'None of My Business' Kermit Meme Before Game 7]() 13. [LeBron Hilariously Trolled the Warriors With His Outfit | GQ]() 14. [LeBron James wears Kermit sipping tea hat, has message for his haters – New York Daily News]() 15. [What is #TeaLizard ?]() 16. [Some maniac at Good Morning America called Kermit the Frog 'Tea Lizard' | Mashable]() 17. [#TeaLizard is now a thing — or so says 'Good Morning America' - AOL]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/kermit-sipping-tea Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library