# Negus Spelling Bee Video Negus Spelling Bee Video captures 12-year-old Andrew Lay at the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee being asked to spell the Ethiopian word 'negus,' which the judges pronounced in a way that sounded uncomfortably close to a racial slur. His long, nervous pause and careful repetition of the word made the clip go viral after afromood uploaded it to YouTube on June 2nd, 2007[3]. By 2010, Daniel Tosh had featured it on Tosh.0, and edits swapping judge audio with Kendrick Lamar lyrics kept the clip alive into the 2020s[1]. ## Origin The spelling moment aired on May 31st, 2007, during the semi-finals of the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, where 12-year-old Andrew Lay from Gaston County, North Carolina correctly spelled 'negus,' an Ethiopian title for a monarch, after asking the judges for the definition and language of origin. The judge's definition, 'the negus ruled Ethiopia until the coup of 1974,' and the panel's repeated pronunciation drew audible laughs from the room[1]. Two days later, on June 2nd, 2007, YouTube channel afromood posted the clip as '2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee Surprise'[3]. The description noted that the judges mispronounced the word from the start, which made Lay's hesitation understandable. That upload later passed 10 million views[1]. Lay, who was a sixth-grader when it aired, gave a retrospective interview to the Gaston Gazette in 2017 at age 22[4]. - **Platform:** 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee (TV broadcast) / YouTube (viral spread) - **Creator:** Andrew Lay (subject); afromood (original YouTube uploader) - **Date:** 2007 ## Overview Negus Spelling Bee Video is a roughly two-minute clip of a visibly nervous sixth-grader stalling for time while a panel of adult spelling bee judges repeat a word that, out loud, sounds very close to a racial slur. The humor comes from Andrew Lay's facial expressions, his several requests for the judges to say the word again, and the increasingly awkward exchange about language of origin and usage before he finally spells it correctly[1]. The clip has lived on through reuploads, Daniel Tosh's reaction on Tosh.0, and short-form edits that splice the audio with rap lyrics. A recurring format swaps the judges' lines for clips of Kendrick Lamar saying 'negus' from his 2014 track 'i,' or drops the video into Let's Go and Who Was In Paris? audio edits[5][6]. The appeal is mostly a single joke, the mismatch between a tense, formal competition and a word that sounds like something no adult on television should be repeating at a 12-year-old[1]. ## How to Use Edits typically cut to the exact beat when the judge says 'negus' or when Lay repeats it back, then layer in a rap vocal or punchline audio. A common convention is to sync the video to a hip-hop track that also uses the word, such as Kendrick Lamar's 'i,' so the kid appears to be reacting to the song. Other edits treat the original clip as a straight reaction video and let the awkward pause play out. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Negus Spelling Bee Video? It's a viral 2007 clip of 12-year-old Andrew Lay carefully spelling the Ethiopian word 'negus' at the Scripps National Spelling Bee while the judges repeat it in a way that sounds like a racial slur[1]. ### Where did Negus Spelling Bee Video come from? The moment aired during the semi-finals of the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 31st, 2007, and was uploaded to YouTube by channel afromood on June 2nd, 2007[3]. ### What does Negus Spelling Bee Video mean? 'Negus' is an Ethiopian title for a monarch, defined on-air as 'the negus ruled Ethiopia until the coup of 1974'[1]. The clip is funny because the pronunciation and context made a formal spelling bee feel deeply awkward. ### How do you use Negus Spelling Bee Video? People commonly cut it into short edits that sync the judges' or Lay's audio with hip-hop tracks, such as Dwight Galang's 2015 Kendrick Lamar edit and GOOSEPEE's 2021 Who Was In Paris? version[6]. ### Is Negus Spelling Bee Video still popular? Yes, it stayed in rotation well past its origin, with the GOOSEPEE edit reaching 3.6 million views in 2021 and the original upload passing 10 million views[6][1]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAU4p1ZxPyE]() 2. [https://www.gastongazette.com/news/20170601/10-years-later-remember-that-gaston-county-kid-who-spelled-negus]() 3. [https://www.alamy.com/contestant-andrew-lay-12-reacts-after-correctly-spelling-the-word-negus-during-the-semi-finals-of-the-2007-scripps-national-spelling-bee-in-washington-may-31-2007-reutersjason-reed-united-states-image380402006.html]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/negus-spelling-bee-video]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLmXQl_O4wg]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzOn8ZsKDLM]() 7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of6a394_Owg]() 8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L76HmljhqX4]() 9. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsFCSvqsqFA]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/negus-spelling-bee-video Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library