# Pope in White Puffer Jacket On March 24, 2023, an AI-generated image of Pope Francis in a long white puffer coat appeared on Reddit and convinced enough viewers that it became a major talking point in debates about photorealistic AI fakes. Twitter reposts collected hundreds of thousands of likes within 48 hours, and celebrity reactions including Chrissy Teigen admitting she was duped turned 'Balenciaga Pope' into a reference point for AI discourse through 2023. ## Origin The earliest known post of Pope in White Puffer Jacket / Pope Francis Drip went up on March 24, 2023, in /r/midjourney under the title 'The Pope Drip,' showing four Midjourney renders of Francis in a long white puffer with the lead image featuring the crucifix detail. The post collected more than 700 upvotes within two days, and the Reddit account that submitted it was deleted shortly after[2]. On March 26, an /r/aiArt user claimed authorship of the original and said their Reddit account had been permanently banned over the drip images, sharing the prompt they said they used and an Instagram handle (@art_is_2_inspire) featuring other AI generations[7]. The claim was not independently verified, so the actual creator is unconfirmed[6]. - **Platform:** Reddit /r/midjourney (source) / Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2023 ## Overview The image shows Pope Francis walking outdoors in a floor-length quilted white puffer jacket with a silver crucifix across the chest and a strap cinched at the waist. Realistic lighting and plausible accessory details fooled many on first look, which is what gave the picture its early virality as people argued over whether the shot was genuine[1][6]. Riffs stuck close to the original setup, swapping the subject while keeping the oversized designer puffer. @GritGrowthCap mocked up a Pope Francis hip-hop album cover on March 25, 2023[4], and @Javalle generated an Abraham Lincoln version in similar streetwear the same day[5]. The nicknames Balenciaga Pope and Pope Francis Drip trace to how the picture stacks papal authority with hip-hop drip vocabulary, which is where most of the follow-up joke captions aimed. ## How to Use Posts in this format typically keep the long white puffer coat and silver crucifix constant while swapping in another dignified or historical figure, often with captions comparing them to streetwear or hip-hop fashion. Later variants reuse the original Pope image with new captions commenting on AI realism, Balenciaga, or papal fashion. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Pope in White Puffer Jacket? Pope in White Puffer Jacket, also called Balenciaga Pope or Pope Francis Drip, is a Midjourney-generated image of Pope Francis in a long white designer puffer coat that went viral in March 2023[1]. ### Where did Pope in White Puffer Jacket come from? The earliest documented post was on /r/midjourney on March 24, 2023, by a user whose account was deleted soon after[2]. A later /r/aiArt user claimed authorship and said their Reddit account was banned over the image[7]. ### What does Pope in White Puffer Jacket mean? The picture pairs papal authority with hip-hop drip fashion vocabulary, and many viewers treated it as an early reference point for how convincing AI-generated photos had become[6]. ### How do you use Pope in White Puffer Jacket? Common riffs swap the Pope for other public figures in the same designer puffer silhouette, such as @Javalle's Abraham Lincoln edit on March 25, 2023[5]. ### Is Pope in White Puffer Jacket still popular? Its viral peak was in late March 2023, and the image is still cited in ongoing discussions about AI-generated photos and media literacy[6]. ## References 1. [https://twitter.com/skyferrori/status/1639647708154675200]() 2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/midjourney/comments/120vhdc/the_pope_drip/]() 3. [https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/status/1639802312632975360]() 4. [https://twitter.com/GritGrowthCap/status/1639708892769976320]() 5. [https://twitter.com/JaValle/status/1639696468960509952]() 6. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pope-in-white-puffer-jacket-pope-francis-drip]() 7. [https://www.reddit.com/r/aiArt/comments/122bpq8/got_perma_ban_for_pope_drip/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/pope-in-white-puffer-jacket-pope-francis-drip Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library