A surreal new meme termed the “Zendaya hat theory” is blending 2010s celebrity nostalgia with the eerie creepypasta aesthetic to parody internet conspiracy culture. Creators are taking real clips, like Zendaya’s 2014 hat moment, and remixing them with AI voiceovers, cryptic math, and ominous soundtracks to imply a grand, sinister secret. But the punchline is that there is no secret. It’s all deliberately incoherent, a satire of how TikTok’s algorithm often rewards vague, conspiratorial content with viral attention. Now, the Babadook is involved.
What is the Zendaya hat theory?
If you’re looking for a straightforward answer about a conspiracy theory related to Zendaya and her hat, prepare for disappointment. The TikTok videos on the subject only make vague references and claim to have answers before inviting commenters to make their guesses. These commenters aren’t any more helpful, getting in on the joke with nonsense like “Zendaya spelt backwards is hat.”
Once you look into it, you’ll find that this trend is nothing more than silliness that pokes fun at the pervasiveness of conspiracy theory videos on TikTok. Like any social media platform, conspiratorial thinking flourishes on the app, with users linking together the loosest of threads while declaring “the truth” to be as clear as day.
Similarly, Zendaya hat theory videos make wild claims like she’s a robot hiding her artificial brain under hats with no real evidence. They typically use the worst versions of AI voiceovers and poor-quality images to underscore the point.
How the Zendaya hat theory started
Zendaya’s big hat incident happened in 2014 at the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood party. The largeness of the hat led to a number of jokes about what she might be hiding, but they mostly ended there.
@thesnakesbloxx Mama hat #zendaya #hat #meme #fyp #zendayaglitch #ethelcain ♬ Perverts – Ethel Cain
On May 1, 2025, TikToker @thesnakesbloxx combined extremely poor quality photos from the event with an altered clip from a 2015 interview in which Zendaya struggled to name her favorite Beyoncé song. The inclusion of the unsettling and ominous sound of “Perverts” by Ethel Cain helped give the video a creepypasta feel.
Two days later, this account posted an explainer video on what they called the “Zendaya theory.” The explainer explained very little, using an AI voice and poor writing to make it clear that this is all a joke.
@thesnakesbloxx The truth about the Zendaya theory #thezendayatheory #zendaya #ethelcain #scary #fyp #truecrime ♬ Creepy and simple horror background music(1070744) – howlingindicator
“Zendaya is a popular celebrity, known for her roles in TV shows,” the voice says. “She is dating a small man called Tom. In 2014 Zendaya was unfortunately found wearing a big hat. This is just the beginning.”
The video falsely claims that Tom Holland was involved in the 2021 film Dune with Zendaya, and links this, their relationship, and the hat together to claim… something.
“When you consider the hat, the dune, and Tom, the horrifying truth begins to set in.”
What is that truth? The video leaves commenters to guess.
Once the video went viral, gaining over 2.3 million views as of May 12, the TikTok account started pumping out more conspiracy videos. They now claim to be the authority on the Zendaya hat theory, and they’ve involved the Babadook—another 2010s sensation.
Zendaya’s 2025 Met Gala look revives the joke
User @thesnakesbloxx lucked out with Zendaya’s 2025 Met Gala outfit. On May 5, she hit the scene with—you guessed it—a big hat. This one was white and not so ridiculously oversized, but any good fake conspiracy peddler wouldn’t let this contrast stop them. The TikToker came up with a Yin-Yang bit to claim that Zendaya is once again sending a signal to someone about something.
“We know the truth and will tell you now,” the new AI voice says, and then it doesn’t.
Meanwhile, other users jumped to make their own Zendaya hat theory videos with a similar vibe. Some stay vague and creepy, while others make claims like the hat is controlling Zendaya. The most ambitious came up with extremely complicated theories involving the letters in Zendaya and Holland’s names, their ages, and some random math.
The hashtag #zendayahattheory now has 1,434 videos going, and #zendayatheory has 3,891.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @thesnakesbloxx for comment via TikTok.
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