The meme was born in 2012 after a YouTuber named Laina Morris posted a video in which she performs a parody version of Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" with personalized lyrics that have been perceived as clingy. The video was submitted in response to Bieber's announcement of an online sing-off contest in promoting his celebrity perfume "Girlfriend." Unfortunately, after becoming a meme, Morris has dealt with some serious privacy issues, such as strangers finding her personal Facebook page and talking to her friends as well as people trying to access her college records. In 2019, Morris announced that she's quitting YouTube for good.