About

Slaves Should Be Free is a double-entendre catchphrase used in memes designed to work off the dual meaning of the word “free.” In the expected context, saying that “slaves should be free” would indicate that they should be “free from slavery,” while in the secondary punchline, the meaning of it is to indicate that they should be “free to own,” as opposed to their historically expensive nature. Beginning in early 2022 and spreading over the following year, the phrase is often used in image macros and a wide array of other well-known meme formats.

Origin

On March 18th, 2022, Redditor johnlen1n uploaded a We Are Not The Same meme using Gustavo Fring to indicate that they believe the slaves on the Star Wars planet Tatooine should be free, but not in the first sense, earning over 10,400 upvotes in one year (shown below).

Spread

On February 3rd, 2023, Redditor Void_junky would use the double entendre as part of a Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny meme with it being more obvious on the meme by having the second “free” quoted as “free,” earning over 4,500 upvotes in two months (shown below).

On TikTok, the phrase is typically used in the same context but with a different type of setup. Instead of having the phrase be repeated on itself, it’s typically used with object-labeling between two antagonistic forces, with the accepted villain character being the one in favor of slaves being free of charge, while the hero wants the slaves to be free from servitude. This is best shown in the March 20th, 2023, TikTok by user Huell Solos in which the One Piece characters Aokiji and Akainu are opposing each other, earning over 400,000 likes in one week (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References