Putting on Clown Makeup — Man applying white face paint beside the same man wearing full clown makeup and rainbow wig

Putting on Clown Makeup

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Published November 11, 2026

Putting on Clown Makeup, also known as Clown Makeup Tutorial, builds a running joke from a 2015 YouTube guide by labeling each step of a painted clown face with a progressively worse argument. Facebook user Trash Bin posted the earliest known meme version in May 2019 using communist regimes, and by June Twitter users were running the format against a widely mocked Pokémon Sword and Shield defense.

multi panel memes object labeling argument dismissal memes exploitable templates debate memes

Overview

The template uses stills from SmiffysFancyDress's five-step tutorial, where a man applies white base, red accents, a round red nose and a wig until he is fully in costume1. Posters caption each frame with a stance, excuse or defense that gets more ridiculous as the panels advance, so the subject appears to transform into a clown as their logic falls apart3. The final fully painted panel holds the most absurd claim, equating the speaker with the clown they have talked themselves into.

Topics range widely. Early examples targeted video game fandoms, political regimes and sports takes24. A common move is to open with a reasonable-sounding position and escalate toward an obviously absurd one, so each label carries more weight than the last.

Origin & Background

Platform
Facebook (earliest meme) / Twitter (viral spread)
Date
2019

YouTube channel SmiffysFancyDress uploaded 'Male Clown Make-up Tutorial' on October 28, 2015, a short walkthrough for applying men's clown face paint in five stages1. The video went largely unnoticed for more than three years. On May 21, 2019, Facebook user Trash Bin posted the earliest known meme version, stitching stills from the tutorial together and assigning each stage to a different communist nation2. That post collected more than 4,900 shares and 1,000 reactions.

How It Spread

Twitter user @m6sloth posted the first viral version outside Facebook on June 13, 2019, mocking someone defending Game Freak's decision to cut the full Pokédex roster from Pokémon Sword and Shield3. That tweet collected more than 240 retweets and 900 likes within three months4.

Over the next couple of months the template reached Twitter's football fandom, where @TrollFootball ran a version in August 2019 about transfer takes5. By late summer 2019, the format reached Reddit, including a post in r/vegan that applied the makeup levels to anti-vegan talking points6. Tumblr users picked up the format around the same time4. The five-panel structure stayed useful because it could absorb any escalating argument, from fandom defenses to political hot takes.

Timeline

2015-10-28

SmiffysFancyDress uploads 'Male Clown Make-up Tutorial' to YouTube, the five-step guide that later became the meme's source footage.

2019-05-21

Facebook user Trash Bin posts the earliest known meme version, assigning each paint stage to a different communist nation.

2019-06-13

Twitter user @m6sloth posts the first viral version, mocking defenders of the cut Pokédex in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

2019-08

@TrollFootball runs a football-fandom version, helping the format take hold in sports Twitter.

2019-09

Format sees wider use on Reddit and Tumblr, with the r/vegan community adapting it against anti-vegan arguments.

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How to Use This Meme

A typical post stacks four or five frames from the tutorial in sequence. Each frame carries one line of a position or claim. The opening caption often sounds reasonable; each following line adds a weaker or more extreme condition until the final, fully painted frame holds the most clown-worthy statement. Posters typically match the escalating paint to escalating logical failures, so the visual gag lands in sync with the written one.

Frequently Asked Questions