Top 10 Memes of 2023
#10: Eggflation
Prices have skyrocketed across every grocery aisle, but the going rates for eggs officially broke the internet in 2023. Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, egg prices grew 70.1% within a year due to labor shortages and the avian flu. $7.37 for a dozen eggs may be highway robbery, although you can’t put a price on the memes this “crisis” inspired. While the earliest memes can be traced to December 2022, it was in the New Year when they really took off with rumors of a chicken revolution. Suddenly, a single egg looked like a diamond engagement ring while a stack of cartons resembled Walter White’s money pile. At this rate, we could buy a chicken and save a fortune.
#9: Pedro Pascal’s Sandwich
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“The Mandalorian” and “The Last of Us” are great and all, but let’s be honest. The Pedro Pascalaissance reached a new peak with his sandwich. Appearing on an episode of “Snack Wars” with Jon Favreau, Pascal lent his tastebuds to American and Chilean delicacies. And by delicacies, we mean Reese’s, McDonald’s, and Five Guys. Yet, it was a tiny PB&J sandwich that captivated the world. Although Pascal preferred the marraqueta sandwich, TikTok ate up the image of him casually biting into the PB&J, green-screening him into offices, classrooms, and other everyday locales. Between the size of the sandwich, the nonchalant look on Pascal’s face, and that brown sweater, the internet’s dad turned a small meal into a bountiful feast.
#8: Rihanna feat. Super Bowl LVII
Rihanna's Savage X Fenty VS Victoria's Secret
Rihanna created no shortage of iconic and meme-able moments with her halftime performance, making that silly football game an afterthought. Charging down the field in puffy coats, Rihanna’s backup dancers channeled “Nick Cannon’s soldiers on their way to work” and “White people when Sweet Caroline comes on at a wedding.” The show’s floating platforms mimicked UFO’s and “Super Smash Bros.” stages. As for Rihanna herself, a brief moment when she adjusted her makeup was a highlight, but nothing topped the reveal of her baby belly. While half of the internet was concerned about how high up Rihanna was, others were flabbergasted by the quick turnaround after giving birth to her firstborn less than a year earlier. They don’t call her hubby ASAP Rocky for nothing.
#7: The Devil Wears Big Red Boots
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Rihanna’s red Super Bowl outfit would’ve been perfection if she just went with a different footwear. Of all the fashion trends to take off in 2023, giant “cartoon boots” hit us like an anvil out of nowhere. Priced at $350, the black boots are fine we guess, but the “Big Red Boots” are where it’s at. Developed by the Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF, the boots became a viral sensation with users linking them to the likes of Astro Boy, Pac-Man, and Saitama of “One-Punch Man.” They might not be the easiest shoes to walk around in… or to get off. Cartoons aren’t practical, however. Neither are fashion or the internet. So, it only makes sense that all three would come together in one looney package.
#6: Angela Bassett Did the Thing
When you put “BAFTA Awards” and “hip-hop performance” together, you know that it’s gonna be dead on arrival. What’s DOA, however, always has a chance to live forever among meme culture. Ariana DeBose’s opening rap number was the stuff that memes are made of, but people gravitated toward one line in particular. So, what exactly is “the thing” that Angela Bassett did? Maybe it’s a reference to her award-winning performance in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” or maybe the songwriters desperately needed a rhyme for “Woman King.” In any case, DeBose deactivated her Twitter account after the performance, but she left behind a hashtag fit for royalty. Bassett even referenced “the thing’ when she won a NAACP Image Award days later.
#5: The Coronation/Roast of King Charles
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Charles III’s entire life has been building toward becoming King. That day finally arrived on May 6, 2023, when he was crowned at age 74. How did social media react to this historic moment? Users turned Charles and Camilla into memes, of course! The redundant rituals and over-the-top outfits contributed to the meme-worthy nature, but it’s the royals themselves who provided the most material to work with. Reading his vows, people weren’t sure if Charles was learning his lines or ordering lunch. We especially love one meme making it look like Charles is reading Prince Harry’s memoir. Harry notably attended the coronation without Megan, although this meme suggests otherwise. In addition to his memorable reactions, Charles got in a “Housewives tagline,” as Josh Feldman tweeted.
#4: American Horror Story: Grimace Shake
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Grimace was introduced as McDoanldland’s resident shake-stealer, but he’s since flipped over a new burger. Or has he? After years of pretending to be Ronald McDonald’s bumbling pal, Grimace set his master plan into motion. Distributing a special shake to commemorate his 52nd birthday, Grimace left unsuspecting customers in purple puddles. You thought that COVID spread like wildfire? It was nothing compared to the purple plague that Grimace unleashed. As millions fell victim to the purple madness, Grimace assumed control of McDonaldland with the world on the horizon. His endgame? To drink all of our milkshakes! At least that’s how memes made it look. In reality, the Grimace Shake was pretty rad, but imagine how the internet will react to the Mayor McCheese Shake.
#3: RIP Twitter
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Elon Musk has made some controversial moves since acquiring Twitter, although few actions have inspired more memes than his baffling decision to change the service’s name to the infinitely less-catchy X. Out of the blue, the bird was out, and memes ridiculing the rebranding were in. Some users joked about how PayPal was predated by the now-defunct X.com. Others imagined Twitter as a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The memes were further fuelled with the launch of Threads, Meta’s answer to Musk’s social media service. The Twitter vs. Threads rivalry was tailormade for old favorites involving SpongeBob SquarePants and Grant Gustin, among others. You can change the name, but to borrow another meme from Regina George, stop trying to make X happen. It’s not going to happen.
#2: Barbenheimer: A Meme of Pink & Black
Even before being released on the same day, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” became a sensation of counterprogramming. Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture has been credited for popularizing “Barbenheimer,” a term that epitomizes the pink explosion. Artists created posters in which Barbie’s colorful world collides with J. Robert Oppenheimer’s bleak outlook. The unlikely pair was also reflected in the Black and Pink Houses meme, which has actually been around for years, but found a new life with Barbenheimer. Even if you took “Oppenheimer” out of the equation, “Barbie” still would’ve owned social media with a selfie generator that everybody got in on, from M3GAN to Kendall Roy. Still, it’s the combo of Barbie and Oppenheimer that made us all feel like Zendaya in “Challengers.”
#1: Kevin James: The King of Memes
Kevin Tsujihara, #Metoo, and Warner Bros
Some know Kevin James from “The King of Queens.” Others associate him with cinematic treasures such as “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” For those who came of age in 2023, though, it’ll forever be known as the Year of the Kevin James Shrugging Meme. With the world divided, the internet called upon the online gods to deliver a symbol of hope. The powers that be answered in the form of a green flannel shirt, the Getty Image logo, and a sitcom star smirking. James might not have realized it when Tony Esparzam took this photo in the late 90s, but he was planting the seeds of a phenomenon that would unite a society overrun with problems, and yet, way too much free time on everyone’s hands. Which meme changed your life in 2023? Let us know in the comments.
