Julia Fox, Kanye West and Uncut Gems: The Meme Explained

What is a muse? That simple, four-word query has unleashed a wave of celebrity parodies, viral tweets and movie comparisons after it was posed to actress Julia Fox earlier this month. But let's back up. Who is Julia Fox? And how does the 2019 dark comedy Uncut Gems fit into all this? Here are all your burning questions about the Uncuh Jahmz
trend, answered.

Who is Julia Fox?

Julia Fox is a 32-year-old model and actor who's generated buzz recently for embarking on a relationship with rapper Kanye West (more on that later). She made her acting debut in 2019's tense thriller Uncut Gems. The film is directed and co-written by the Safdie brothers, a filmmaking duo composed of Josh and Benjamin Safdie. 

Fox is also a New York socialite, artist and fashion designer. She once held an art exhibit featuring silk painted with her own blood, and co-founded a women's knitwear line. 

When did Kanye West enter the picture?

Fox met West, also known as Ye, last December on New Year's Eve, roughly 10 months after his wife, Kim Kardashian, filed for divorce. Fox wrote a post for Interview Magazine recounting her second date with the rapper. "Everything with us has been so organic. I don't know where things are headed but if this is any indication of the future I'm loving the ride," she wrote. 

Flash-forward a couple of weeks, and the pair stepped out together at Paris Fashion Week wearing over-the-top coordinated outfits. When Fox appeared on the popular Call Her Daddy podcast on Feb. 8, she confirmed she and Kanye were calling each other "boyfriend" and "girlfriend."  

The fateful Call Her Daddy podcast

Whew, now we're finally getting somewhere. On the Call Her Daddy Podcast, host Alex Cooper asked Fox if she would consider herself Ye's muse. (West legally changed his name to Ye last year). Fox said she did, a little. Cooper followed up, asking her, "What is a muse?" The response set off a swarm of TikTok parodies. "I mean," Fox said. "I was Josh Safdie's muse when he wrote Uncuh Jahmzz." She, of course, said Uncut Gems. But it doesn't sound like Uncut Gems. 

The internet caught on to that snippet of the interview, and the viral posts rolled in.

You can find the exchange at about the 5:20 mark of this clip. The interview includes some other parody-worthy tidbits including the first thing Ye said to the actress. (Sup, it's Ye.)

Where do Kanye and Fox stand now?

West and Fox's relationship fizzled in February. In a Feb. 14 post to her Instagram story, Fox wrote, "Kanye and I are on good terms! I have love for him but I wasn't in love w the man."

For the past few weeks, West has been sharing erratic Instagram posts, including some in which he said that he wanted his estranged wife back. 

Since the Call Her Daddy interview, Fox has poked some fun at herself, saying she was stoned while answering questions. ("Omggggg I was stoned. Leave me alone!!!!" she wrote in an Instagram comment on a parody video). 

As for what a muse actually is? We're still not entirely sure. 

Some of the best Uncut Gems parodies 

"It's all in the eyes."

From Cara Delevingne to Midnight Mass star Rahul Kohli, celebs shared their take on Uncah Jahmz.

Some classic film comparisons were in order. 

Twitter, of course, got in on the fun.

"I need to hear Julia Fox say 'Idina Menzel,'" one Twitter user wrote, referring to the time John Travolta famously mispronounced Menzel's name while an Oscars presenter. 

And it seems Wikipedia was briefly updated with the new spelling.