Everyone’s Reheating Nachos
From Benson Boone to Lady Gaga, what pop culture’s latest metaphor says about originality, influence, and endless reheating
Something that has been all over my timeline lately is the idea of “reheating nachos.”
Now, I don’t know if I even fully understand the concept—but here’s the best definition I’ve found: “Reheating nachos” refers to when an artist, creator, or public figure recycles, revisits, or is clearly inspired by a previous trend, idea, or style—whether it’s their own or someone else’s.
And I can’t help but wonder: in a world overflowing with references and revivals, is that even avoidable anymore? And more importantly—why are we acting like it’s a bad thing?
The biggest example lately seems to be Benson Boone. People online are claiming he’s “reheating the nachos” of Freddie Mercury and Harry Styles. His sheer blue jumpsuit at the Grammys and purple high-waisted pants and sparkly top on SNL have stirred up some commotion. All over TikTok, people are accusing his public persona of being “ingenuine” and built on the backs of the queer community.
Do I agree with those statements? No. I don’t think so.
If anything, Benson’s brand seems to reflect what’s trendy right now in fashion—trends that, as always, were popularized by the queer community long before they went mainstream. But even then, is he really copying the queer community? Sure, Harry Styles has become the masculine icon of the sparkly jumpsuit, but he definitely wasn’t the first. If we’re going to talk about “reheating nachos,” then Benson Boone has stuck Elvis’ right in the microwave.
Elvis is widely credited as one of the first male performers to popularize a uniform similar to Benson Boone’s look. And that’s no discredit to the queer community—we’re the ones who took that look, ran with it, and made it iconic. But the likes of Elton John, Freddie Mercury, and Prince? They all took notes from Elvis, too. The so-called “originators” were reheating chips, cheese, and chili before Benson even had a plate.
So is it really so wrong for Benson to do the same?
Another example I find fascinating—though not talked about much—is Lady Gaga’s early career and how closely it mirrors Gwen Stefani’s. One Lady Gaga forum user even said, “Not gonna lie, my first impression of Gaga was ‘who is this Gwen knockoff?’”
Listening to Gaga’s debut album “The Fame,” it’s hard not to hear the resemblance to Gwen Stefani’s work with No Doubt—especially their album “Rock Steady.” The dance-pop, the vocal inflections, the bold fashion. And yet, both women are considered iconic. One likely took inspiration from the other, but that doesn’t make either one less legendary.
The cycle continues. When Halsey dropped a promo for her single “safeword” in February, people claimed she was reheating Olivia Rodrigo’s nachos. One X user replied, “Replies saying she's reheating Olivia Rodrigo's nachos when we were listening to this type of music before Liv was even born.”
When Doja Cat’s Marc Jacobs campaign launched, people said she was reheating Sabrina Carpenter’s nachos. But another user clapped back, “People are saying she reheated Sabrina's espresso nachos, but y'all are forgetting that say so literally birthed it.” But did Doja originate those nachos? No! And that’s no shade. She kills those nachos every time.
So maybe the real moral of the story is: don’t we all reheat nachos? Isn’t that what artists have always done?
Shakespeare “reheated nachos” by retelling ancient Roman stories. Madonna did it by borrowing from ballroom and drag culture. Fashion, music, film—so much of it is a remix. And if that’s the case, maybe it’s not about who cooked the nachos first. Maybe it’s about how well you reheat them.
And honestly? If the nachos still taste good, who cares who warmed them up?