Notorious R.B.G. — Illustrated portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg wearing a gold crown

Notorious R.B.G.

2013image macroclassic

Published September 10, 2026

Notorious R.B.G. is a Tumblr blog launched in June 2013 by NYU law student Shana Knizhnik, framing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a hip-hop-styled folk hero named for rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Sparked by Ginsburg's Shelby County v. Holder dissent, it grew into a bestselling biography, a viral action figure, and an Oscar-nominated documentary.

internet memes

Overview

The visual language grafts hip-hop iconography onto an 80-year-old jurist: Ginsburg's face gets paired with a golden crown pulled from The Notorious B.I.G.'s aesthetic, and her dissents run alongside quotes lifted from rap lyrics3. Recurring motifs include her lace jabot collar and her strength-training sessions with trainer Bryant Johnson.

Merchandise arrived almost instantly. Tumblr user charlesdingusesquire produced the first Notorious R.B.G. T-shirt on the same day the blog launched, and Knizhnik later routed shirt proceeds to Planned Parenthood and the Advancement Project. The format eventually branched into tote bags, mugs, temporary tattoos, and a poseable Ginsburg action figure with a removable jabot5. Ginsburg herself embraced the tribute publicly, telling reporters she gives the shirts out as gifts2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Tumblr
Creator
Shana Knizhnik
Date
2013

Shana Knizhnik, then a second-year law student at NYU, launched the Notorious R.B.G. Tumblr in June 2013 after reading Ginsburg's dissent in Shelby County v. Holder, the 5-4 ruling that gutted a key section of the Voting Rights Act3. She named the blog after Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G., pairing legal writing with hip-hop swagger. The inaugural post quoted Ginsburg's Shelby dissent directly, framing the justice as a defender of voting rights against a hostile Court.

How It Spread

The blog picked up mainstream attention slowly, then all at once. By 2014, Knizhnik reportedly sold thousands of shirts across various designs. Ginsburg told TIME she kept a large personal supply and handed them out as gifts4. Reporters at Huffington Post, MSNBC, Politico Magazine, and the Washington Post covered the trend2, and the site made the ABA Journal's 8th Annual Blawg 100 list6.

A Notorious Hug post from January 20, 2015 pulled 3,348 notes on Tumblr, one of the blog's viral peaks3. Later that month, Knizhnik teamed with MSNBC reporter Irin Carmon to write the biography Notorious R.B.G.: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pitched as an unobjective and irreverent celebration of the justice's role in the women's movement1. The 2018 documentary RBG opened May 4 with a 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and on June 5, 2018, FCTRY's Kickstarter for a Ginsburg action figure blew past its $15,000 goal, hitting $146,000 in three days5.

Timeline

2013-06

Shana Knizhnik launches the Notorious R.B.G. Tumblr in response to Ginsburg's Shelby County v. Holder dissent, and Tumblr user charlesdingusesquire produces the first branded T-shirt the same day.

2015-01-20

The 'Notorious Hug' post pulls 3,348 notes on Tumblr, one of the blog's biggest hits.

2015-01

Knizhnik and MSNBC reporter Irin Carmon announce the Notorious R.B.G. biography deal.

2018-05-04

The RBG documentary opens in US theaters with a 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

2018-06-05

FCTRY launches a Kickstarter for a poseable Ginsburg action figure and hits $146,000 in pledges within three days.

Frequently Asked Questions