The Origins Of Bye Felicia

Avid fans of '90s films remember the phrase "Bye Felicia" from the iconic "Friday" film. This cult class starred Ice Cube (in one of his biggest breakout roles) as Craig Jones and Chris Tucker as Smokey. As for who exactly Felicia is, the scene follows Felicia, a girl from the neighborhood who approaches Smokey and Craig, asking to borrow a car and then a joint. After Smokey's repeated refusals, Felicia looks to Craig for help. Craig then dismisses her by saying — as you can probably guess — "Bye, Felicia."

And that is how "Bye Felicia" was born! From the dismissal of a small-time character in the '90s cult classic.

In a tongue-in-cheek reference, the F. Gary Gray-directed "Straight Outta Compton" also uses "Bye Felicia" (Gray also directed "Friday), even though such a phrase had not existed (remember: the film is a biopic about the early '90s group, N.W.A). And, what's even funnier about this inside joke is that Ice Cube — you know, the rapper-turned-actor who starred in the movie and first uttered the iconic phrase — was the one to say "Bye Felicia" in the film. In an interview with The Cut, Gray explained how this play-on-words was a last-minute decision to add into the script. "Some people may feel like it's the origin of 'Bye, Felicia,' but it's a fun moment, a wink and a nod to the original 'Friday' and a little bit of fun," he said (per Decider). "It's one of the funniest moments in the movie."