Have You Thanked Beyoncé Today? Explaining the Latest Viral TikTok Obsession

There are some people that we should all wake up every day and be grateful for, and Beyoncé is probably high on that list. Recently, though, a bunch of people on TikTok have started thanking the pop singer publicly, leading many to wonder whether something spurred on that trend.

Thanking Beyoncé like she's an actual goddess is funny, but even Queen B might think it's a bit much. Here's what we know about the trend and why it started.

People appear to be thanking Beyoncé after noticing that many other artists appear to do exactly that when accepting awards, even if Beyoncé didn't have anything to do with the music that they're being awarded for. As is often the case with TikTok, the comedy minds there took that notion and ran with it, creating various videos where Beyoncé has to be thanked after sneezing, or about the perils involved in skipping one of her songs on Spotify.

While the meme is funny, it has its origins in part in some sinister conspiracy theories that have been circulating online since Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested and charged with a variety of sex-related crimes. Some people have suggested that Beyoncé and Jay-Z knew about those crimes or were even involved in some sort of sex-trafficking ring without any evidence.

Fortunately, though, this trend is a much more positive development than those unsubstantiated theories, as it light-heartedly pokes fun at the almost divine reputation that Beyoncé has among her biggest fans.

This joke is not new, exactly. In fact, Saturday Night Live had a sketch about the perils of not liking Beyoncé years ago, and this seems to be an evolution of that same idea.

There's a reason that so many artists feel the need to thank Beyoncé on stage even though she had nothing to do with their music. She's been a hugely important artist in the 21st century, so much so that Adele almost apologized for beating her for Album of the Year and described her as "the artist of my life."

Perhaps even more famously, Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's VMAs speech in 2009 to suggest that Beyoncé should have won the award.

These moments are a reminder just how long Beyoncé has been of crucial importance in pop culture, and frankly how often she has not been recognized for her work by awards bodies. She might win another major Grammy some day, but for now, she'll have to be content with random people thanking her on TikTok.

It's definitely not a bad part of daily practice to be grateful for Beyoncé and all the gifts that she has bestowed on the culture. As long as you know that it's mostly a joke, you can go on thanking Beyoncé whenever you trip but don't fall or win the lottery. Hopefully we can avoid turning it into an actual religion.