The Jessica Krug racial identity controversy erupted in September 2020 when Krug, an associate professor at George Washington University, confessed in a Medium post that she had been living a lie for years. Despite her professional focus on African American history and her claims of Afro-Caribbean heritage, she revealed she was actually a white Jewish woman from suburban Kansas City. The internet immediately compared her to Rachel Dolezal, and the story became a viral sensation. Memes often focus on her transition from her 'Jessica La Bombalera' persona back to her Midwestern roots, using the scandal to critique academic performativity, the 'pretendian' phenomenon, and the sheer audacity of her long-term cultural appropriation.