Zendaya’s Met Gala Look Sparks Fresh Hat Theory—But What’s Really Going On?

Ever feel like you need a PhD in internet culture just to keep up with the latest meme madness? Yeah, me too. One minute you’re casually scrolling, the next you’re deep in the “100 gorillas vs one human” showdown or trying to decode why some kid trained only half his body like a medieval knight prepping for battle. And just when you think you’ve caught up, here comes the Zendaya ‘hat theory’ — a wild, delightfully nonsensical saga that’s been quietly lurking online since 2014, only to explode again after the latest Met Gala. Seriously, what’s the deal with the hat that’s rumored to be everything from a shapeshifting portal to Tom Holland’s hideout? Spoiler alert: it’s mostly nonsense, but the fun is in the mystery. So buckle up, because understanding internet jokes can feel like chasing a unicorn riding a gorilla — confusing, hilarious, and oddly captivating all at once. LEARN MORE.

Jokes on the internet can oftentimes feel like you need multiple degrees and years of context just to understand them.

Whether it be the 100 gorillas vs one human debate, figuring out why a kid trained just one side of his body for months, or the viral Zendaya ‘hat theory’, trying to figure out what the joke is can be near-impossible.

If you’ve been online since the Met Gala, you might have seen the Zendaya ‘hat theory’ swirling about, and been wondering what everyone is on about.

The long-running internet joke first arose in 2014 when the actor attended a red-carpet event wearing what can only be described as a f**king massive hat.

Why has Zendaya’s ‘hat theory’ resurfaced after last night’s Met Gala?

Zendaya wore a hat to the Met Gala. No, really, that’s the whole reason.

The decision to wear it has led to people revisiting the meme that began in 2014.

Zendaya’s big a** hat from 2014 (JB Lacroix via Getty Images)

‘Zendaya Hat Theory’ videos can be summarised by simply containing various sinister nonsensical suggestions that the hat was evil, or hiding Tom Holland in it, or had eaten the original Zendaya, or made her into some kind of shapeshifter.

If none of the videos you’re seeing about it seem to make any kind of sense, that’s by design.

What is the ‘Zendaya Hat Theory’?

Nonsense, essentially.

The ‘hat theory’ is a parody of various internet conspiracy theories and copypastas.

Among the various aspects of the ‘theory’ is that hat spelled backwards is Zendaya (it isn’t), you can’t spell Tom Holland without the word ‘hat’ (if you move things around, sure), or that she is hiding Tom Holland in her hat to bring him to events (we cannot disprove this one just yet).

Many however feel that in wearing the outfit, Zendaya is in some way nodding at or paying tribute to the viral meme.

She has actually addressed the memes before when asked about her 2014 big hat look for the Teen Vogue party.

She said: “I still see memes about this look with my hat. I stick by it. We thought it was chic at the time, and I think it’s still chic. I’d wear it again.”

One fan tweeted about the look, saying: “Her wearing this while the Zendaya theory memes with that big hat from 2014 are happening is hilarious i fear.”

Another said: “Nobody is taking the hat incident seriously Where is Zendaya? How does the Small Man [presumably referring to Tom Holland] fit into this mystery? How did she get access to the hat?”