Thanks I Hate It

2017Catchphrase / reaction phrasesemi-active

Also known as: TIHI

Thanks I Hate It is a 2017 reaction-phrase meme expressing disgust at content so fascinatingly disturbing that it becomes impossible to unsee.

"Thanks, I Hate It" is a reaction phrase turned meme format that took off in late 2017 on Reddit and Tumblr, used as a response to images or content that is simultaneously fascinating and repulsive. The phrase captures that specific feeling of being shown something you didn't ask to see and can't unsee. It found a permanent home with the creation of the r/TIHI subreddit in late 2018, which grew to over 166,000 subscribers within months1.

catchphrase memesreaction memessarcasm memessubreddit origin memescursed content memes

Overview

"Thanks, I Hate It" works as a deadpan, passive-aggressive response to disturbing, cursed, or uncomfortable content shared online. Someone shows you a photoshopped horse with a dog's mouth, a cat with a human face, or some other piece of internet grotesquerie you never needed to see. Your response: "Thanks, I hate it."

The genius of the phrase is its polite structure wrapped around genuine disgust. It's rage made digestible with manners1. The "thanks" implies someone deliberately inflicted this content on you, while "I hate it" makes your feelings perfectly clear. Mashable writer Heather Dockray described this genre of content as "Internet Gothic," comparing it to Southern Gothic literature but composed of hellish images, perverse Photoshops, disturbing GIFs, and nihilist memes2.

The phrase is used both as a standalone comment reaction and as a title format, typically structured as "Thanks, I hate [specific thing]."

The exact inventor of the phrase is unknown, but its usage spiked noticeably in the fall of 20173. One of the earliest documented uses came from a September 24, 2017 post on r/FireEmblemHeroes, where someone shared fan art of the character Ryoma drawn so his skin stretched to fit the shape of his helmet3. User Luxocell responded in the thread with "Thanks! I hate it" about a month later3.

Before it became a post title format, the phrase lived in comment sections. People would drop it as a reaction to strange, cursed, or unsettling images they encountered on Reddit and Tumblr3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (r/FireEmblemHeroes), Tumblr
Creator
Unknown; Markus
Date
2017

The exact inventor of the phrase is unknown, but its usage spiked noticeably in the fall of 2017. One of the earliest documented uses came from a September 24, 2017 post on r/FireEmblemHeroes, where someone shared fan art of the character Ryoma drawn so his skin stretched to fit the shape of his helmet. User Luxocell responded in the thread with "Thanks! I hate it" about a month later.

Before it became a post title format, the phrase lived in comment sections. People would drop it as a reaction to strange, cursed, or unsettling images they encountered on Reddit and Tumblr.

How It Spread

By late 2017, "Thanks, I hate it" started appearing as post titles rather than just comments. An October 30, 2017 Reddit post showed a cat wearing a hat, titled with the phrase. A January 2018 post on r/crappydesign using the title picked up over 30 upvotes.

On Tumblr, the phrase spread mostly through tags. A post by user mygoldenwolf featuring an image macro of Shane Madej with the "Thanks, I hate it" tag pulled in over 100,000 notes. Another tagged post by user lessos showing Pokémon fan art collected over 6,000 notes.

The real turning point came in December 2018 when the r/TIHI subreddit launched. The community was created by a moderator named Markus after another mod, u/scrumbly, linked to the non-existent subreddit in a comment on r/ATBGE (Awful Taste But Great Execution). "He posted a comment linking to this sub and as it didn't exist yet I decided to make it a thing," Markus told Mashable. He set a simple rule: posts had to follow the naming convention "Thanks, I hate [thing]."

The subreddit grew fast. By late February 2019, it had hit 136,000 subscribers. Just a week later, by March 7, 2019, that number climbed to 166,000. On March 7th, a post showing reverse centaurs earned 6,900 upvotes with a 97% approval rating, showing the kind of cursed content the community craved.

Mashable covered the subreddit on February 28, 2019, with Dockray calling it "a great home for a timeless meme" and arguing that it filled a genuine psychological need: "There's so much repulsive content on the internet that needs to be identified, mocked, and celebrated".

The subreddit also spawned a companion community, r/TILI (Thanks, I Love It), which Markus described as the "warmer cousin" for wholesome, positive content.

Platforms

RedditTwitterTikTokDiscordInstagram

Timeline

2018-06

Meme format emerges

2019-01

Gains traction in internet circles

2020-01

Reaches peak popularity

2021-01-01

Brands and companies started using Thanks I Hate It in marketing

2023-01-01

Thanks I Hate It entered the broader pop culture conversation

2024-01

Current status in meme culture

2025-01-01

Thanks I Hate It is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format is simple and flexible:

- As a comment: Reply "Thanks, I hate it" to any image, video, or piece of content that makes you uncomfortable but that you can't look away from. - As a post title: Share cursed or unsettling content with the title "Thanks, I hate [specific thing]." For example: "Thanks, I hate cats with human faces" or "Thanks, I hate manicured weiners". - As a tag: On Tumblr, add "thanks I hate it" to the tags of any reblogged post that fits the vibe.

The content typically falls into categories like grotesque animal hybrids, disturbing Photoshop edits, uncomfortable body modifications, things that shouldn't exist but do, and images that make you question why someone spent time creating them. The key ingredient is that duality: the content should be both compelling and repulsive at the same time. As Markus put it, it's "a place for all the beautiful posts that are both likable and hatable at the same time".

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The r/TIHI subreddit turned what could have been a short-lived catchphrase into a lasting content category. Markus noted that one of the most interesting developments was artists creating original content specifically for the community: "As a motion graphics guy it always fascinates me that creators spend hours creating and rendering content that wouldn't make sense for most people outside of reddit".

The phrase also carved out a distinct emotional niche online. Urban Dictionary defines it as a subreddit "dedicated to showing images/videos that are cursed or makes you feel uncomfortable when looking at the image," while also noting its standalone use as a comment-section reaction to shitposts. The abbreviation TIHI became widely recognized shorthand across Reddit and beyond.

The meme tapped into something specific about internet culture: the compulsion to share things that horrify you, and the strange community that forms around collective disgust. Dockray argued that r/TIHI provided something the web genuinely wanted: "A home for the internet's most grotesque animals, mutants, hybrids, and technological failures".

Fun Facts

The subreddit grew from zero to 166,000 subscribers in roughly three months.

The r/TIHI community exists because u/scrumbly linked to a subreddit that didn't exist yet on an r/ATBGE post, and Markus decided to actually create it.

Markus, the subreddit's founder, is a motion graphics professional who had only managed small subreddits before r/TIHI unexpectedly blew up.

The most popular content categories on r/TIHI include animal hybrids, disturbing finger-related images, and things that break the English language.

Derivatives & Variations

Community variations and adaptations

A variation of Thanks I Hate It

(2018)

Platform-specific versions

A variation of Thanks I Hate It

(2018)

Subculture-specific remixes

A variation of Thanks I Hate It

(2018)

Frequently Asked Questions

Thanks I Hate It

2017Catchphrase / reaction phrasesemi-active

Also known as: TIHI

Thanks I Hate It is a 2017 reaction-phrase meme expressing disgust at content so fascinatingly disturbing that it becomes impossible to unsee.

"Thanks, I Hate It" is a reaction phrase turned meme format that took off in late 2017 on Reddit and Tumblr, used as a response to images or content that is simultaneously fascinating and repulsive. The phrase captures that specific feeling of being shown something you didn't ask to see and can't unsee. It found a permanent home with the creation of the r/TIHI subreddit in late 2018, which grew to over 166,000 subscribers within months.

catchphrase memes reaction memes sarcasm memes subreddit origin memes cursed content memes

Overview

"Thanks, I Hate It" works as a deadpan, passive-aggressive response to disturbing, cursed, or uncomfortable content shared online. Someone shows you a photoshopped horse with a dog's mouth, a cat with a human face, or some other piece of internet grotesquerie you never needed to see. Your response: "Thanks, I hate it."

The genius of the phrase is its polite structure wrapped around genuine disgust. It's rage made digestible with manners. The "thanks" implies someone deliberately inflicted this content on you, while "I hate it" makes your feelings perfectly clear. Mashable writer Heather Dockray described this genre of content as "Internet Gothic," comparing it to Southern Gothic literature but composed of hellish images, perverse Photoshops, disturbing GIFs, and nihilist memes.

The phrase is used both as a standalone comment reaction and as a title format, typically structured as "Thanks, I hate [specific thing]."

The exact inventor of the phrase is unknown, but its usage spiked noticeably in the fall of 2017. One of the earliest documented uses came from a September 24, 2017 post on r/FireEmblemHeroes, where someone shared fan art of the character Ryoma drawn so his skin stretched to fit the shape of his helmet. User Luxocell responded in the thread with "Thanks! I hate it" about a month later.

Before it became a post title format, the phrase lived in comment sections. People would drop it as a reaction to strange, cursed, or unsettling images they encountered on Reddit and Tumblr.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (r/FireEmblemHeroes), Tumblr
Creator
Unknown; Markus
Date
2017

The exact inventor of the phrase is unknown, but its usage spiked noticeably in the fall of 2017. One of the earliest documented uses came from a September 24, 2017 post on r/FireEmblemHeroes, where someone shared fan art of the character Ryoma drawn so his skin stretched to fit the shape of his helmet. User Luxocell responded in the thread with "Thanks! I hate it" about a month later.

Before it became a post title format, the phrase lived in comment sections. People would drop it as a reaction to strange, cursed, or unsettling images they encountered on Reddit and Tumblr.

How It Spread

By late 2017, "Thanks, I hate it" started appearing as post titles rather than just comments. An October 30, 2017 Reddit post showed a cat wearing a hat, titled with the phrase. A January 2018 post on r/crappydesign using the title picked up over 30 upvotes.

On Tumblr, the phrase spread mostly through tags. A post by user mygoldenwolf featuring an image macro of Shane Madej with the "Thanks, I hate it" tag pulled in over 100,000 notes. Another tagged post by user lessos showing Pokémon fan art collected over 6,000 notes.

The real turning point came in December 2018 when the r/TIHI subreddit launched. The community was created by a moderator named Markus after another mod, u/scrumbly, linked to the non-existent subreddit in a comment on r/ATBGE (Awful Taste But Great Execution). "He posted a comment linking to this sub and as it didn't exist yet I decided to make it a thing," Markus told Mashable. He set a simple rule: posts had to follow the naming convention "Thanks, I hate [thing]."

The subreddit grew fast. By late February 2019, it had hit 136,000 subscribers. Just a week later, by March 7, 2019, that number climbed to 166,000. On March 7th, a post showing reverse centaurs earned 6,900 upvotes with a 97% approval rating, showing the kind of cursed content the community craved.

Mashable covered the subreddit on February 28, 2019, with Dockray calling it "a great home for a timeless meme" and arguing that it filled a genuine psychological need: "There's so much repulsive content on the internet that needs to be identified, mocked, and celebrated".

The subreddit also spawned a companion community, r/TILI (Thanks, I Love It), which Markus described as the "warmer cousin" for wholesome, positive content.

Platforms

RedditTwitterTikTokDiscordInstagram

Timeline

2018-06

Meme format emerges

2019-01

Gains traction in internet circles

2020-01

Reaches peak popularity

2021-01-01

Brands and companies started using Thanks I Hate It in marketing

2023-01-01

Thanks I Hate It entered the broader pop culture conversation

2024-01

Current status in meme culture

2025-01-01

Thanks I Hate It is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format is simple and flexible:

- As a comment: Reply "Thanks, I hate it" to any image, video, or piece of content that makes you uncomfortable but that you can't look away from. - As a post title: Share cursed or unsettling content with the title "Thanks, I hate [specific thing]." For example: "Thanks, I hate cats with human faces" or "Thanks, I hate manicured weiners". - As a tag: On Tumblr, add "thanks I hate it" to the tags of any reblogged post that fits the vibe.

The content typically falls into categories like grotesque animal hybrids, disturbing Photoshop edits, uncomfortable body modifications, things that shouldn't exist but do, and images that make you question why someone spent time creating them. The key ingredient is that duality: the content should be both compelling and repulsive at the same time. As Markus put it, it's "a place for all the beautiful posts that are both likable and hatable at the same time".

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The r/TIHI subreddit turned what could have been a short-lived catchphrase into a lasting content category. Markus noted that one of the most interesting developments was artists creating original content specifically for the community: "As a motion graphics guy it always fascinates me that creators spend hours creating and rendering content that wouldn't make sense for most people outside of reddit".

The phrase also carved out a distinct emotional niche online. Urban Dictionary defines it as a subreddit "dedicated to showing images/videos that are cursed or makes you feel uncomfortable when looking at the image," while also noting its standalone use as a comment-section reaction to shitposts. The abbreviation TIHI became widely recognized shorthand across Reddit and beyond.

The meme tapped into something specific about internet culture: the compulsion to share things that horrify you, and the strange community that forms around collective disgust. Dockray argued that r/TIHI provided something the web genuinely wanted: "A home for the internet's most grotesque animals, mutants, hybrids, and technological failures".

Fun Facts

The subreddit grew from zero to 166,000 subscribers in roughly three months.

The r/TIHI community exists because u/scrumbly linked to a subreddit that didn't exist yet on an r/ATBGE post, and Markus decided to actually create it.

Markus, the subreddit's founder, is a motion graphics professional who had only managed small subreddits before r/TIHI unexpectedly blew up.

The most popular content categories on r/TIHI include animal hybrids, disturbing finger-related images, and things that break the English language.

Derivatives & Variations

Community variations and adaptations

A variation of Thanks I Hate It

(2018)

Platform-specific versions

A variation of Thanks I Hate It

(2018)

Subculture-specific remixes

A variation of Thanks I Hate It

(2018)

Frequently Asked Questions