What is Why Is He Lying?

It is a reaction image made from a New Rockstars YouTube thumbnail of Benedict Wong with the yellow caption "Why is he lying?" used to accuse someone of dishonesty[1][2].

Where did Why Is He Lying come from?

The image was pulled from the thumbnail of a New Rockstars video about Wong in She-Hulk streamed on September 1st, 2022[1], and first used as a reaction by X user @LeEyepoke on October 8th, 2022[2].

What does Why Is He Lying mean?

Posting the image means the person in the post above is, in the poster's view, not telling the truth, framed as a mock-serious question rather than a direct accusation[3].

How do you use Why Is He Lying?

Reply to a tweet or screenshot with the cropped Wong image; the built-in yellow text does the work, so no extra caption is required[3].

Is Why Is He Lying still popular?

The format was still active into 2025, with a Reddit post in r/Batman clearing 800 upvotes in January[5] and a "Why Is He Telling the Truth?" spinoff appearing that June[6][8].

Why Is He Lying

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Why Is He Lying? is a reaction image built from a New Rockstars YouTube thumbnail of Benedict Wong as the Marvel character Wong, overlaid with big yellow text asking why he is lying. It surfaced on Twitter in October 2022 and became a common reply for accusing someone of dishonesty.

reaction memes youtube thumbnail memes accusation memes marvel 2022 memes

Overview

Why Is He Lying? is a reaction image cropped from a New Rockstars YouTube thumbnail showing Benedict Wong as the Marvel character Wong, next to bold yellow text reading "Why is he lying?"1. People post it under tweets and screenshots to imply the subject of the post is not telling the truth2.

The image sits in the same visual family as other New Rockstars reaction thumbnails, most notably "Does He Know?", which uses the same channel's yellow caption style3. That shared look is part of why the format is instantly recognizable when it shows up in a reply.

How It Spread

On June 18th, 2023, TikToker @xteiss posted a rundown of three New Rockstars-style thumbnails used as reaction images, including Why Is He Lying?, and the video passed 180,000 views4.

Use kept ticking along on Twitter and elsewhere before another notable bump on January 5th, 2025, when Redditor u/ke7iah dropped the meme in r/Batman alongside a screenshot of an X post about the Snyder Cut, collecting over 800 upvotes5.

In early June 2025, an inverted spinoff called "Why Is He Telling the Truth?" appeared. Tenor user eeexdlolll posted the first version on June 1st, 2025 via a recaption edit6, and Tenor user calu_ followed on June 7th with an edit closer to the original New Rockstars caption style7. TikTok user @xst1ckerx then posted the offshoot to TikTok on June 16th, 20258.

How to Use This Meme

The meme is typically posted as a standalone reply under a tweet, screenshot, or quote where the poster wants to suggest the subject is being dishonest. No extra caption is needed since the yellow "Why is he lying?" text is baked into the image3. A common convention is to use the tightly cropped version that focuses on Wong's face rather than the full thumbnail.

Frequently Asked Questions

References (8)