Virgil Abloh, who passed away from cancer on Nov. 28, was the first Black artistic director to lead Louis Vuitton menswear and had close ties to several figures in the music world.
He founded the controversial fashion label Off-White, which was beloved by figures like Rihanna and Kid Cudi and known for pieces marked by ironic quotes, such as a sweatshirt reading "BUSINESS CASUAL," Vox reported in 2018.
But Abloh's death occurred one day before the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell on federal sex trafficking charges, and some conspiracy theorists attempted to connect the two events.
One such post, a meme from the Facebook page "Liberty Memes for the Libertarian Soul," claims Abloh was a defendant in the trial.
"Virgil Abloh, defendant in Maxwell case, dies one day before trial," reads the meme, which over 450 users shared after it was posted on Nov. 29. "And here we go."
The meme overlaid the claim on a photo of Heath Ledger as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”
Other Twitter and Facebook posts buttressed the claim with screenshots of a court document for a case supposedly listing Abloh as a defendant alongside Maxwell, Beyonce and others.
But Abloh was not a defendant in Maxwell's trial. The official indictment and the Department of Justice press release for the trial show Maxwell is the only defendant.
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