Bye, Felicia

This article is about the phrase originating from the 1995 filmFriday.For the mixtape by Jordin Sparks, see#ByeFelicia.

InAmerican English,the phrase "Bye, Felicia"(or sometimes"Bye, Felisha") is an informal phrase intended as a dismissive send-off, wherein a person or idea is rendered so unimportant their name is reduced to" Felicia. "According toIce Cube,who starred inFridayand co-wrote its script, "'Bye, Felicia' [...] is the phrase to get anyone out [of] your face that's saying something stupid".Nicole Richie(adoptive daughter ofLionel Richie} said "Felicia is, like, some randomthat you just do not even care about. "

Origin

Ice Cube(pictured in 2012) starred in and co-wrote the script for the 1995 filmFriday,in which the phrase originated.

The phrase originally comes from a scene in the 1995 American comedy filmFriday.Ice Cube's character says the line to dismissAngela Means' character, Felisha. In an interview withVibemagazineto commemorate the film's 20th anniversary, Means said she believes the phrase wasn't in the script and Ice Cubead-libbedthe line "based off what I gave him as an actor."

The phrase, however, is also known in Scandinavia, where it originates from one of the most popular folk songs of the Scandinavian Folk revival era, "Felicia - adjö" (transl. "Bye, Felicia" ) by the Dutch born Swedish Folk and Blues singer/songwriterCornelis Wreesvijk,recorded in 1968.Also here, the meaning of the phrase is dismissive as the song's protagonist shifts between lamenting and dismissing thoughts of a former love interest. (Second verse starts "Felicia är död" transl. "Felicia is dead (to me)" only to continue "död är mitt enda hopp" transl. "dead is my only hope" )

Rise in popularity

According to Robert Thompson, a media professor atSyracuse University,the phrase went relatively unnoticed at first and it was regarded as a "throw-away line." He suggested that it only became popular with the advent ofsocial mediaandYouTube.On Google, "bye felicia" first began to grow in popularity as a search term around August 2012 and peaked in September 2015. The phrase has been gradually dwindling in popularity as a search term ever since, although it had a brief resurgence in December 2017.According toTwitteranalytics site Topsy, the hashtag "#ByeFelicia" was used over 35,000 times in August 2014.

In 2009, the phrase entered the lexicon of theLGBT communitythanks to its usage onRuPaul's Drag Race,an Americanreality competitiontelevision series.

Usage in popular culture

In 2014VH1launched a reality showed titledBye Feliciastarring Missy Young and Deborah Hawkes. Each episode sees Young and Hawkes give a young woman a makeover and help them "say goodbye for good to their inner 'Felicia.'"

In the 2015 movieStraight Outta Compton,Ice Cube (played by his son,O'Shea Jackson Jr.) said, "Bye, Felicia!", while throwing a girl named Felicia out of his hotel room. Naming the girl Felicia was not an intentional reference toFriday,but when Jackson ad-libbed the line as a "coincidental joke", the filmmakers decided to keep it in the film.

The phrase has also been used by numerous celebrities. Some examples include:

• Musical artistJordin Sparksreferenced the phrase in the title of her first mixtape#ByeFelicia.
• On an episode ofOn Air with Ryan Seacrest,guest Nicole Richie informedSeacrestabout the phrase and its origins.
• Robin Roberts,one of the hosts ofGood Morning America,directed the phrase towardsOmarosa Manigaultafter she resigned as adviser to PresidentDonald Trump.
• Keith Olbermannregularly used the phrase on hiseponymous showonESPN,and often uses the term on Twitter as a means of ending a conversation.

Criticism

Writing for the online magazineThe Root,Dustin J. Seibert says that the phrase was originally created by black people and meant to be used by black people. According to him, "white people co-opted the phrase and stunk it up [...] Hit up the former Twitter right now and type “Bye Felicia” in the search bar…you’ll see it’s notususing it like that anymore. "He specifically mentioned Olbermann as someone who co-opted and" stunk up "the term.theGrio's Monique Judge agrees that Olbermann overused the phrase, and cites him as an example of "white people stealing a phrase with significant meaning for Black people."

In an interview withNPR,Allison Davis talked about the phrase's usage inStraight Outta Compton,saying directorGary Grayunnecessarily added a "misogynistic moment for a punchline." She characterized the scene as "kind of disturbing" and "slut-shaming," and was particularly critical of the decision to have the partygoers blame Felicia, "the harlot troublemaker," and punish her by kicking her out of the party naked.

See also

• Bye Felipe

External links

• The dictionary definition ofbye, Feliciaat Wiktionary