The Return of the Donatella VERSACE Purple Heart Meme

The Donatella VERSACE purple heart meme originated after a fashion designer of the same name left it as a comment on an Instagram post. The surprising nature of the comment caused other people to use it as a spam phrase until it morphed into a meme that made its way onto Twitter, Reddit, and eventually TikTok in its 2024 revival.

@holdensmith962 donatella VERSACE #bellahadid #gigihadid #bellahadidedit #donatellaversace #versace #internet #pop culture #forcibie ♬ Aesthetics – Tollan Kim

No one really knows what Versace meant when she commented on Bella Hadid’s 2022 post, and perhaps that aura of mystique is why the meme has endured over the years.

Who is Donatella Versace?

Donatella Versace is an Italian fashion designer, model and socialite, sister of Gianni Versace, who founded the company to which he gave his family name. They collaborated to combine the industry with celebrity influence and popular culture.

Many fashion experts credit Donatella with inventing the concept of the supermodel in the 1990s. She took over most of the company while Gianni was battling cancer, and after his death in 1997, she inherited most of it, becoming creative director. In addition to fashion, she designed resorts, hotels and the Mini Cooper.

What does Donatella Versace’s purple heart emoji mean?

How the fashion mogul used it, no one really knows. However, the meme refers to the time she commented “donatella VERSACE” and then added a purple heart emoji on model Bella Hadid’s Instagram on February 14, 2022.

The post itself touched on a controversial and highly emotional topic, making the simple comment with the odd capitalization all the more mysterious. That Valentine’s Day, Hadid, who is Palestinian on her father’s side, posted a photo of a candy heart with the message “Will you free my Palestine?”

It’s unclear whether Donatella was trying to sign off in support of the post, Palestine in general, or what was going on, but other Instagram users were quick to pick up on the off-color comment and found it hilarious. As far as we know, she knew exactly what she was doing as a trend expert and just wanted her name out there.

Use and share Donatella Versace’s purple heart meme

Donatella Versace’s purple-heart remark first became comment spam. Hadid’s pro-Palestinian post and others soon filled with copycat comments before spreading to other users’ accounts.

It then spread to Reddit and Twitter, where people posted photos of Versace models with the commentary of a purple heart Donatella Versace emoji. During the Barbie poster trend in April 2023, Twitter user @mazzypopstar created one featuring the fashion designer and the caption, “This Barbie is Donatella VERSACE .”

Over time, the meme began to appear next to every comment that contained a name or word in all caps and included a heart emoji.

TikTok returns in 2024

In 2024, for unknown reasons, the Donatella Versace meme experienced a renaissance, with users posting videos with captions or descriptions that first featured one word in lowercase, then another in uppercase, and finally an emoji.

@floptokhub3 Donatella VERSACE #fyp #flop #floptok #cupcakke #jiafei #donatellaversace #ellieandmasonhouse #viral #funny #youcanunderstand♬ a bit original – Mateus

The trend became so popular that videos began to be posted explaining the meme, which only increased its popularity.

Examples of memes

@sugurugetospetmonkey good morning #donatellaVERSACE #hello ♬ Max pro, copy my character in your videos – Leader Omega Nugget

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