Why the Pop World Can’t Shut Up About Nachos
As Picasso once said, “Good artists reheat, great artists steal the microwave.”
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If you’ve been seeing many a post on Twitter about Person X reheating Person Y’s nachos, and you’re confused, you are not alone. None other than Dionne Warwick has also been flabbergasted by this latest metaphor.
Dionne Warwick on the concept of music artists ‘reheating their nachos’:
“What” pic.twitter.com/mqjmSXEaQQ— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 14, 2025
Ironically enough, “reheated nachos” is a metaphor about a lack of creativity. One that has been used to death online in a matter of months. Broadly, it means someone is doing the exact same thing as someone else. They have not invented a new style of nachos, rather they have reheated some nachos of yore.
donna summer’s nachos after being reheated by the entire music industry for the last four decades pic.twitter.com/xG65gJpuB5— ♕ (@alovetrilogy) February 15, 2025
patrick schwarzenegger tried to reheat his nachos but he over cooked them and they burned :( pic.twitter.com/neKp5oTrB8— aram ???? (@aramnotagoat) February 19, 2025
Pop girls may be reheating Donna Summer’s nachos, or Mike White may be reheating his own nachos in season 3 of The White Lotus. You get the gist. But why? From whence did it come? And how long are we going to have to keep hearing about it? We’re here to help.
Who was Nacho Zero?
As explained by Mike’s Mic on his podcast, the nacho meme originated with Baddies West (itself a reheat of Bad Girls Club’s nachos). A Baddies meme account posted a clip of Natalie Nunn and Stunna Girl having a conversation while Stunna Girl ate nachos. It was captioned “you can tell natalie lowkey wanted stunna girls nachos,” and thus history was made.
even mulaney wants my nachos pic.twitter.com/zgklzEtDrl— bald ann dowd (@ali_sivi) November 3, 2024
For most of 2024, the meme circulated through culture gaining momentum. Most of these early posts focused on the coveting of nachos, or perhaps their recreation. But the concept of reheating leftover nachos was where things really took off in 2025.
Reheating a meme
Now the phrasing has gotten even more constrictive, and is thus spreading even more quickly. Chappell Roan is reheating Supernanny’s nachos in her new “The Giver” promo. Shakira is reheating Beyoncé’s stadium tour nachos. Drake is reheating his own nachos on $$$4U. It’s gotten to the point it’s confusing Halle Berry. Shame on you. In his latest cultural digest, Terry O’Connor says we have maybe days left before the nachos run dry. In other words, we are reaching peak ‘cho.
I take a little break and come back and every other Tweet is about reheating nachos? Lol.— Halle Berry (@halleberry) February 13, 2025
….if you think about it…. art is made by everyone is reheating each other’s nachos through space and time…— abi balingit ???? MAYUMU OUT NOW! ???? (@theduskykitchen) February 18, 2025
But this focus on where an idea comes from does kind of feel like missing the point. Art has been an interplay between inspiration, interpolation, appropriation, and other -ations since at least Rome reheated the nachos of Ancient Athens. As Pablo Picasso once said, “Good artists reheat, great artists steal the microwave.”
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