Let The Hate Flow Through You is an image macro built around a single frame of Emperor Palpatine, usually captured mid-cackle from the Death Star throne room scene1. Posters drop it into heated threads as bait, essentially telling the person they are arguing with that their anger is exactly what the poster wants2. The tone is smug rather than sincere, which is what makes it work as a trolling reaction rather than a straightforward Star Wars reference.

Most variants stick close to the standard image macro template: a still of Palpatine with the line rendered in white Impact text3. Some swap the wording slightly ("Yes, let the hate flow through you") or replace Palpatine's face with another character while keeping the caption intact, which is how the format later crossed over with Grumpy Cat4.

Typical usage is as a reply image in an argument, not as a standalone joke. Common convention is to post the Palpatine macro when someone is visibly angry, framing their reaction as feeding into whatever the original poster wanted. Variants often keep the caption locked and swap the face, with Grumpy Cat being the best-known substitution2.