A tweet that jokingly suggested a 3D-rendering of Britney Spears was in fact scientists attempting to recreate the Egyptian ruler Cleopatra has inspired a huge new meme.
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/udb1VPqWbR
The tweet, sent out by a Britney Spears stan account, was originally meant to just be a take on an already popular tweet featuring Lana Del Rey.
"One of my mutuals has a viral tweet about Lana Del Rey and Cleopatra and I just made it into Britney," the person running the @lovemedown account told BuzzFeed News. They also said most of the responses to the tweet featured people arguing over Cleopatra's ethnicity.
@Iovemedown @_Hickock_ Wtf Cleopatra was Egyptian there's no way she was white
@Iovemedown Are we just gonna keep pretending Egypt isn’t in Africa
@Wenis30 @Iovemedown sis she was from a macedonian family that ruled in egypt after being installed there by alexan… https://t.co/jdXbEwLP96
@Derekcoble @Iovemedown @AkimWb Cleopatra was Greek, and didn't exist that long ago (around the time of Julius Caes… https://t.co/HKykbKRb8Q
There were also some people upset that no one had read the scientific article...
@Iovemedown Why don't you link the scientific article instead of just posting unverified pictures?
@Lovemedown said there were some alt-right white supremacists getting in on the discussion, too, "but that was short lived thank God".
People still think my Cleopatra tweet was serious
Shortly after the initial tweet, another tweet with the simple line "It's Britney bitch" blew the meme up to tens of thousands of people. It has well over 100,000 retweets.
It’s Britney bitch https://t.co/um5ZG12ufY
Soon enough, people were posting their own 3D renderings of Cleopatra.
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/ttYsoyuP8K
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/EdkvNCa9lh
There were... some interesting choices.
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/QS40Z9B6AO
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/4ksfSqv1cj
And bizarre... familiar renderings...
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/14pv6bfaou
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/OKxn5kqsAF
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/koMWrO7qVc
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/dkcnshtfUe
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/LQImbObPKJ
In truth, no one had iPhones or cameras when Cleopatra was around, so we have to take what we can get from art, literature, and sculpture. That said, I think it's pretty safe to conclude that most of these... are not 3D models of her.
Scientists at Harvard University have created this 3D Model depicting what ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra may hav… https://t.co/hbZMPGNeox