🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 92 (from laksa044)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa092.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/","crawl_time":1776654239,"first_indexed_time":1765382827,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,rollingstone!www,\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/ s443","src_root_hash":"6480905922786146692","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"25 Best Memes of 2025","meta_descriptions":["Six-seven, Gen Z stare, and Labubu Matcha Dubai Chocolate took center stage on the internet this year."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Skip to main content\nThe 25 Best Memes of 2025\nPhoto illustration by Matthew Cooley\nAs we say our goodbyes to 2025, we must bid adieu to the memes that came with it. It was a surreal year on the internet — many of this year’s memes leaned heavily into the brain rot that’s come with the rise of AI and over-consumerism, though others sprang out of good old-fashioned candid camera moments. Trump was back in office, Katy Perry was in space, and kids everywhere were screaming “six seven” for some reason, before adults co-opted it and made it cringe. Presented to you in roughly the order they came into our lives, let’s take a walk through the memes that defined 2025 — for better and for worse.\nPhotographs in illustration\nEmma McIntyre\/Getty Images; Blue Origin\/Cover Images\/AP; Johannes Simon\/Getty Images; Joe Raedle\/Getty Images\nPhoto\n:\nGetty Images\nPerhaps the greatest bit of slang to come out of Stan Twitter this year was “reheating nachos,” a phrase usually wielded against pop stars to accuse them of lacking originality. Basically, if you’re reheating someone’s nachos, you’re copying them or piggybacking off their creativity. Though the phrase originated on the reality show\nBaddies West\nin 2023, per\nKnowYourMeme\n,\nit caught fire this year (reheated, really) as a meme. Doja Cat was accused of\nreheating\nSabrina Carpenter’s nachos (and vice versa), while Lady Gaga was\ncharged\nwith reheating Madonna’s nachos, and Tate McCrae\nwith\nBritney Spears’. Beyoncé, however, faced no nacho allegations — “She is the tortilla industry,” as one person\nput it\n.\nPhoto\n:\nGregory Shamus\/Getty Images\nWhat a halftime show we had this year. It’s not every Super Bowl you get to see the\ngreatest rap beef\nin years get aired out live for all the world to watch. Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us” was one of the most talked-about halftime moments in ages — particularly after Lamar turned directly to face the camera when he name-checked Drake, flashing a giant,\nmischievous grin\n. The performance — which came one week after “Not Like Us” swept at the Grammys — was the knockout punch in the rappers’ feud, and the image of Lamar beaming ear-to-ear set off a\nton\nof\nmemes\n.\nClose your eyes for a moment. Picture our sitting vice president. What does he look like? Are you sure? In March, following Trump’s tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, photoshopped images of J.D. Vance had a\nhuge moment\nonline, with the fine artists of the internet coming up with increasingly ridiculous edits of him. Many of them showed him as a chubby-cheeked\ntoddler\n, often pictured with a\nlollipop\nand propeller hat. Others got more creative with it. “I have completely forgotten what the real J.D. Vance looks like at this point,” one person\nquipped\non X, sharing an edit of Vance with a neckbeard, one of the most enduring images of the meme era. Though the meme took off this year, its origins stem back to October 2024, when Rep. Mike Collins\nposted\na rather yassified looking photo of the VP.\nPhoto\n:\nAndrew Harnik\/Getty Images\nUnfortunately, Trump is funny sometimes. One of these times was back in March, when Trump checked out a Tesla in front of the White House. Intrigued by the vehicle’s digital touchscreen, he uttered one of the most\nperfect sentences\nabout modern technology in recent memory: “Everything’s computer!” Literally so true. It was an\ninstant\nhall-of-famer\nTrumpism\n, joining the likes of “many such cases” and “Thank you Kanye, very cool!”\nPhoto\n:\nSamir Hussein\/Getty Images\nEconomic anxiety was so back in 2025. With it came a refrain: “That’s a recession indicator.” Almost anything you can think of was probably dubbed a recession indicator this year:\nAddison Rae’s music career\n, the return of\nflash mobs\n, people wearing\nbusiness casual to the club\n, among others. Everywhere you looked, there were signs the economy was sliding into collapse. Though a recession hasn’t officially hit the U.S., it still sounds like it\ncould be coming\n, so keep storing up those recessioncore memes for 2026.\nPhoto\n:\n305pics\/GCImages\nGrind culture found a new patron saint in March with fitness influencer\nAshton Hall’s morning routine\n. The video is a truly rich text — Hall wakes up at 3:52 a.m., does a bunch of pushups, eats a banana and then rubs the peel on his face,\njournals\nfor exactly three minutes, and dunks his head in a big bowl of Saratoga bottled water not once but\ntwice\n, all before 9:30 a.m. At one point, he dives off a diving board, and according to the video’s timestamps, is\nsuspended in midair\nfor four minutes. The video is so ridiculous it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s real, parody, engagement bait, undisclosed sponcon for Saratoga, or some mysterious combination thereof. Whatever it was, the\nmemes\npractically\nwrote\nthemselves.\nPhoto\n:\nWill Heath\/NBC\/Getty Images\nAt the end of Morgan Wallen’s first\nSaturday Night Live\ngig in March, he abruptly\nbounced\n, walking offstage midcredits as the rest of the cast (and host Mikey Madison) clapped and hugged it out as they typically do. It was a surprising exit — even more so when, shortly afterwards, he made it clear on his\nInstagram Story\njust how happy he was to take his leave. “Get me to God’s country,” he wrote over a photo of his private plane. \nThe phrase became a meme pretty much immediately, a sort of desperate request to abscond to one’s personal slice of paradise, be it the\nRainforest Cafe\n,\nNeopia\n, or the\nMyrtle-Broadway subway stop\nin Brooklyn.\nPhoto\n:\nCover Images\/AP\nIn April, a star-studded, all-women crew — which included Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, and Katy Perry — exited the Earth’s atmosphere for about 10 minutes on a rocket operated by Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin. It was already a not-so-great time to be Perry — everyone was dunking on her latest album, a\n2010s throwback\nno one asked for — and the billionaire-funded space trip just felt like further confirmation she’d lost the plot. Not helping matters: her\nsaying things\nlike “space is going to finally be glam” and “we are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut,” singing\n“What a Wonderful World”\nat zero gravity, and\nkissing the ground\nwhen she landed. Obviously, it was massively roasted and sparked some\nout-of-this-world\njokes\nand\nmemes\n. What a wonderful world, indeed.\nA new cast of AI-generated creatures with vaguely Italian-sounding names started taking over everyone’s TikTok For You pages in early 2025. First there was\nTralalero Tralala\n, a sneaker-wearing shark. Then emerged\nChimpanzini Bananini\n(a chimp-banana hybrid),\nBallerina Cappuccina\n(a ballet-dancing cup of cappuccino), and\nBombardiro Crocodilo\n(a combination crocodile and bomber plane), just to name a few. Not all of them were Italian —\nTung Tung Tung Sahur\n, a wood log with a baseball bat, was Indonesian. The number of characters that emerged from the trend is unclear, though one popular video counts\nat least 100\n. If you’re confused, don’t overthink it too much — like so many contenders this year, this is another one of those weird brain-rotty memes that transcends explanation and just sort of\nis\n. Ballerina Cappuccina, mi mi mi mi!\nPhoto\n:\nJonathan Raa\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\nAs AI chatbot use surged in 2025, the website formerly known as Twitter introduced one of its own: Grok. It quickly became common for users to reply to a tweet and tag Grok, summoning the bot to explain it, often asking, “Grok, is this true?” The phrase soon\nbecame\na\nmeme\n, with people using it to\nmock\ngrowing\nover-reliance\non AI. People did find some solid uses for Grok — namely, using it to\nroast\nits\ncreator\n, Elon Musk. Unfortunately, the chatbot did have one major downside, which was that it\nreally liked\nHitler. \nPhoto\n:\nGUILLAUME SOUVANT\/AFP\/Getty Images\nWho would win in a fight: 100 men or one gorilla? That was the question on everyone’s minds in April. It wasn’t the first time the topic had\nset off\ndiscourse\nonline, but this time, it seriously took off, going viral thanks to a few posts on\nTikTok\nand\nX\n. A lot of people joined in on the\ndebate\n, or at least got in\nsome\nsolid\njokes\n. \nSo, what’s the answer? A few primatologists weighed in with their thoughts. Wildlife photographer and conservationist Ron Magill told\nRolling Stone\nhe thinks 100 men\ncould\ndefeat the gorilla if they “are committed and go in united,” but it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory. “It could be a kamikaze mission for the men closest to the gorilla,” he said.\nPhoto\n:\nVatican Media\/Vatican Pool\/Corbis\/Getty Images\nIn May, shortly after the death of Pope Francis, 133 cardinals gathered in the Vatican to select the next pope. Though this is a process that dates back almost 1,000 years, this was the first one since the movie\nConclave\ncame out in 2024. As such, everyone\nsuddenly knew\nhow conclaves worked and\nproved\nit with the\nmost\nblessed\nmemes\n. People were\nstanning\ntheir\nfavorite\ncardinals\n, reading all the latest conclave news on\nPope Crave\n, and even posted about the\nseagulls\non the\nroof\nof the Sistine Chapel to pass the time while they awaited white smoke. \nPhoto\n:\nTheo Wargo\/FilmMagic\nWay back in September 2014, Zendaya wore an enormous Armani hat to the\nTeen Vogue\nYoung Hollywood Party. The hat was very big, and the photos were very funny. Flash forward to this May, and the image resurfaced on TikTok, where user\n@thesnakesbloxx\npaired a bunch of low-res clips of the photo with some eerie-sounding audio from Ethel Cain’s\nPerverts.\nAs that TikTok went viral, so did the “Zendaya hat theory” meme — particularly after Zendaya wore\nanother\nbig hat to the Met Gala just as the meme was gaining traction.\nSo, what\nis\nthe theory? Well, it doesn’t actually exist — the concept was basically just a parody of online conspiracy theories, with a people vaguely suggesting something was hiding under the hat or that it had some cryptic deeper meaning. As far as we could tell, the only thing the hat was covering up was her head.\nPhoto\n:\nGetty Images\nA sort of “don’t talk to\nme or my son\never again” for the modern age, photos of baby animals “with mama” took over in a huge way throughout 2025. After the first instance — an image of the\nsolar system\nwith the caption “let’s orbit around mama” — went viral on\nTumblr\n, adorable memes soon started popping up on\nInstagram\nand had major staying power for months to come. \nPhoto\n:\nKevin Dietsch\/Getty Images\nIt was the breakup of the year. In June, Elon Musk — who up until this point had been besties with the president — came out against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. Obviously, Trump didn’t take it too well, and the two began\npublicly feuding\non social media, their once close relationship flaming out in spectacular fashion. Who could’ve guessed that two of the biggest egos in federal government would eventually butt heads? Naturally, the very online (including one of Musk’s many\nbaby mamas\n) rose to the occasion with some\ntruly\nexcellent\nposts\n.\nPhoto\n:\nDUTCH\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images\nIt was quite a year for Justin Bieber — one during which he found himself especially hounded by the celebrity gossip machine. By June, it seems like he’d finally had enough, and he confronted paparazzi outside the Soho House in Malibu. “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” he told the photographers. The\nvideo\ncirculated widely, and people clowned on him pretty hard for the sorta cringey and not exactly correct use of\nAAVE slang\n. But “standing on business” became a pretty much inescapable\npart\nof the\nmeme\nlexicon\nafter that.\nPhoto\n:\nJoan Valls\/Urbanandsport\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\nOne of the most ubiquitous TikTok audios of the year came courtesy of a U.K. tour operator’s\ncommercial\nfrom 2024, showing a family frolicking on vacation. “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday!” a very peppy British woman says in the ad, as Jess Glynne’s 2015 song “Hold My Hand” plays in the background. Soon, people were using the audio over videos of\nvacation\n–\nrelated\nmishaps\n. By the middle of the summer, it was\nunavoidable.\nThanks to the trend, “Hold My Hand” was one of\nTikTok’s top songs\nof the year.\nPhoto\n:\nCreative Touch Imaging Ltd.\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\nEverywhere you look online, there’s another microtrend being shoveled through the algorithm. In 2025, that creeping ennui of overconsumerist slop\ncrystallized\ninto\na\nmeme\n: “Labubu matcha Dubai chocolate,” a sort of word salad summing up the year’s most inescapable fads — a Nordic-inspired toy, Japanese drink, and pistachio-filled candy bar, respectively. At times, other words and phrases made it into the memes, particularly\nStanley cups\n,\nBenson Boone\n,\nLove Island\n,\nand\nCrumbl cookies\n.\nPhoto\n:\nZamrznuti tonovi\/Adobe Stock\nAre you a guy who carries\nfeminist lit\naround in your\ntote bag\n? Do you listen to Clairo in your\nwired earbuds\nwhile sipping an\noat milk matcha latte\n? Congratulations, you might just be a performative male. Though many terms have been floated in the past for dudes who fake emotional sensitivity and feminist ideals to get into their Hinge date’s pants — “softboy” and “male manipulator,” in particular — “performative male” took off in a big way in 2025. By the summer, “\nperformative\nmale\ncontests\n” began popping up across the country, with men competing to be crowned the pick-me guy final boss. One could argue that ironically competing in such a contest is perhaps the greatest “performative male” indicator of them all, but that’s a discussion for another day.\nPhoto\n:\nEthan Miller\/Getty Images\nAt a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts in July, the kiss-cam panned to one unsuspecting couple. A split second after popping up on the Jumbotron, the man and woman — who had been wrapped up in each others’ arms, looking very much in love — suddenly broke apart. The woman turned around, back to the camera, while the man ducked down to the ground. “Oh, look at these two,” Chris Martin said. “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” The public latched onto the idea that it was the former after the two were quickly identified as Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, the CEO and head of HR, respectively, of the tech company Astronomer, both of whom were married to other people.\nSources\nhave since claimed there wasn’t an affair at all — this was just a show of their “excellent working relationship,” and the\ndivorce\nthat came after was in the works before the incident. But at the time it was a rare bit of monoculture,\nsparking\na\nton\nof\njokes\n(even from the pair’s former\ncompany\n) as everyone gobbled up the undeniably juicy scandal of a CEO and HR exec seemingly caught in a very unprofessional act. As one person\nwrote\non X, “Shoutout to Coldplay for bringing the whole internet together for one day.”\nPhoto\n:\nGetty Images\nIf you’ve ever spoken to a teen or twentysomething and been met with a blank stare and silence, you’ve probably experienced the so-called “Gen Z stare.” The term refers to the\ndead-eyed look\nzoomers supposedly give older people when asked a question, often in\nclassrooms\nor\ncustomer service\nsettings (or when you’re\nSydney Sweeney\nbeing asked about your jeans ad). The concept of a “Gen Z stare” started gaining traction on TikTok in July, though members of the generation were quick to deny its existence, with many defending it as a valid reaction to dealing with stupid people. “Your question was so idiotic it reset my brain,” one TikToker\nwrote\n.\nPhoto\n:\nEmily Curiel\/Kansas City Star\/Tribune News Service\/Getty Images\nIn case you hadn’t heard, it was a pretty big year for Taylor Swift. Between buying\nback her masters\nand bringing an\nentire new audience\nto the NFL, she somehow found time to roll out a whole new album. After she\nannounced\nThe Life of a Showgirl\non the Kelce brothers’ podcast in August, it basically took over the zeitgeist, filling everyone’s feeds with memes of other\nsparkly\n,\nfeather-boa–wearing\nicons. That’s\nshowbiz\n, babe.\nPhoto\n:\nGetty Images\nThe Rapture has been incorrectly predicted more than a few times throughout history, but never has it happened in such an online way. In September, a handful of Evangelical Christians thought the world was going to end, and it became a\nwhole\nthing\non TikTok. The prophecy came by way of South African pastor\nJoshua Mhlakela\n, who in a sermon posted to\nYouTube\n, claimed Jesus Christ had personally told him the Rapture would take place on Sept. 23 or 24. Well, apparently either Jesus or Joshua was wrong, but everyone had a\nlot\nof\nfun\nanyway.\nPhoto\n:\nCHRIS DELMAS\/AFP\/Getty Images\nSome memes have a fascinating, deep inner meaning. This one does not. Perhaps the most significant Gen Alpha meme to date (sorry,\nSkibidi Toilet\n), shouts of “\nsix seven\n” became all but inescapable in middle school classrooms across the country this fall. It initially took off among basketball fans — the phrase first appeared in Skrilla’s song\n“Doot Doot (6 7)”\n, which then became the soundtrack to a ton of TikTok edits of NBA stars, particularly six-foot-seven\nLaMelo Ball\n.\nSo, what does it mean? Well, basically nothing. After reaching ubiquity on TikTok, the phrase just became a thing kids couldn’t stop saying, a mass inside joke only made funnier by the fact that teachers and parents didn’t get it. That is, until\nHalloween\n, when many of these lame grownups dressed up as “six seven,” thus immediately making it cringe and freeing us all.\nPhoto\n:\nStephanie Saias*\nIn October, while promoting her new song, Australian singer-songwriter Sophia James posted seven different TikToks as a “little science experiment to see what video gets the most reach.” In the\nseventh video\n, she told her audience as much. “If you are watching this video, you are in Group 7,” she said. For whatever elusive reason the TikTok algorithm decreed, that’s the one that went viral. Soon, people all over TikTok were making TikToks\nproclaiming\ntheir\nGroup 7\npride\n. The children long for school spirit week.\nCulture\n(Sub)Culture Lists\nMore News","attrs_markdown":"×\n\n![an image, when javascript is unavailable](https:\/\/sb.scorecardresearch.com\/p?c1=2&c2=6035310&c4=&cv=3.9&cj=1)\n\n[×](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/)\n\n[Skip to main content](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/#pagetop)\n\n[Rollingstone Logo](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/)\n\nClick to expand the Mega Menu\n\nClick to Expand Search Input\n\n- [Music](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/)\n- [Politics](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/)\n- [TV & Movies](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/tv-movies\/)\n- [Culture](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/)\n- [VIBE](https:\/\/vibe.com\/)\n\n[Got A Tip?](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/tips\/)\n\n[Account](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/)\n\n[Welcome](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/)\n\n[Manage Account](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/my-account\/)\n\n[Manage Print Account](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/manage-print-account\/)\n\n[Sign Out](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/)\n\nLog In\n\nClick to expand the Mega Menu\n\nClick to Expand Search Input\n\n[Rollingstone Logo](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/)\n\n###\n[1 - 3](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/reheating-nachos-1235467209)[4 - 6](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/everythings-computer-1235467240)[7 - 9](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/get-me-to-gods-country-1235467187)[10 - 12](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/grok-is-this-true-1235467250)[13 - 15](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/zendaya-hat-theory-1235467219)[16 - 18](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/standing-on-business-1235467167)[19 - 21](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/performative-males-1235467174)[22 - 24](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/taylor-swift-61-1235467232)[25 - 25](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/group-7-1235467204)\n\n- [Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/&title=The%2025%20Best%20Memes%20of%202025&sdk=joey&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button \"Facebook\")\n- [X](https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/post?url=https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/&text=The%2025%20Best%20Memes%20of%202025&via=RollingStone \"X\")\n- [google-preferred](https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com \"google-preferred\")\n- [email](mailto:?subject=RollingStone%20:%20The%2025%20Best%20Memes%20of%202025&body=https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/%20-%20The%2025%20Best%20Memes%20of%202025 \"email\")\n\n[Got A Tip?](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/tips\/)\n\n[Account](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/)\n\n[Welcome](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/)\n\n[Manage Account](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/my-account\/)\n\n[Manage Print Account](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/manage-print-account\/)\n\n[Sign Out](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/)\n\nLog In\n\n[Year in Culture](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/best-of-2025\/)\n\n# The 25 Best Memes of 2025\nBrain rot took center stage in the year's internet discourse. AI was a close second\n\nBy  [Julia Reinstein](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/author\/julia-reinstein\/)\n\n### [Julia Reinstein](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/author\/julia-reinstein\/)\n- [8 Biggest Revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein Docs](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/jeffrey-epstein-documents-release-revelations-1234939902\/)\n- [Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew Named in New Jeffrey Epstein Documents](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/jeffrey-epstein-court-files-unsealed-1234939060\/)\n\n[View all posts by Julia Reinstein](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/author\/julia-reinstein\/)\n\nDecember 10, 2025\n\n![The 25 Best Memes of 2025](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Best-Meme.jpg?w=1581&h=1054&crop=1)\n\nPhoto illustration by Matthew Cooley\n\nAs we say our goodbyes to 2025, we must bid adieu to the memes that came with it. It was a surreal year on the internet — many of this year’s memes leaned heavily into the brain rot that’s come with the rise of AI and over-consumerism, though others sprang out of good old-fashioned candid camera moments. Trump was back in office, Katy Perry was in space, and kids everywhere were screaming “six seven” for some reason, before adults co-opted it and made it cringe. Presented to you in roughly the order they came into our lives, let’s take a walk through the memes that defined 2025 — for better and for worse.\n\nPhotographs in illustration\n\nEmma McIntyre\/Getty Images; Blue Origin\/Cover Images\/AP; Johannes Simon\/Getty Images; Joe Raedle\/Getty Images\n\n## Reheating Nachos\n![nachos and cheese in tray with beer shot close up](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-reheat-nachos.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Getty Images\n\nPerhaps the greatest bit of slang to come out of Stan Twitter this year was “reheating nachos,” a phrase usually wielded against pop stars to accuse them of lacking originality. Basically, if you’re reheating someone’s nachos, you’re copying them or piggybacking off their creativity. Though the phrase originated on the reality show *Baddies West* in 2023, per [*KnowYourMeme*](https:\/\/knowyourmeme.com\/memes\/reheating-nachos-reheat-nachos)*,* it caught fire this year (reheated, really) as a meme. Doja Cat was accused of [reheating](https:\/\/x.com\/dojaspetcat\/status\/1919388268933878060) Sabrina Carpenter’s nachos (and vice versa), while Lady Gaga was [charged](https:\/\/x.com\/jovarca1000000\/status\/1890098231734071309) with reheating Madonna’s nachos, and Tate McCrae [with](https:\/\/x.com\/asherw01fe\/status\/1883755341369978949) Britney Spears’. Beyoncé, however, faced no nacho allegations — “She is the tortilla industry,” as one person [put it](https:\/\/x.com\/roomfmate\/status\/1886453427754115381).\n\n## Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl\n![NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 09: Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-kendrick-lamar-sb-show.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images\n\nWhat a halftime show we had this year. It’s not every Super Bowl you get to see the [greatest rap beef](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/drake-kendrick-lamar-beef-explained-1235015540\/) in years get aired out live for all the world to watch. Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us” was one of the most talked-about halftime moments in ages — particularly after Lamar turned directly to face the camera when he name-checked Drake, flashing a giant, [mischievous grin](https:\/\/x.com\/Phil_Lewis_\/status\/1888765939153281199). The performance — which came one week after “Not Like Us” swept at the Grammys — was the knockout punch in the rappers’ feud, and the image of Lamar beaming ear-to-ear set off a [ton](https:\/\/x.com\/PallaviGunalan\/status\/1888765722647568436) [of](https:\/\/x.com\/sad_oat\/status\/1888996047428436212) [memes](https:\/\/x.com\/wishescametrue\/status\/1888980388250321195).\n\n## Baby-Faced J.D. Vance\n![JD Vance Memes](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-fat-JD.jpg?w=800)\n\nClose your eyes for a moment. Picture our sitting vice president. What does he look like? Are you sure? In March, following Trump’s tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, photoshopped images of J.D. Vance had a [huge moment](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-commentary\/jd-vance-meme-immigration-1235371114\/) online, with the fine artists of the internet coming up with increasingly ridiculous edits of him. Many of them showed him as a chubby-cheeked [toddler](https:\/\/x.com\/barflugnarven\/status\/1895590112828010945), often pictured with a [lollipop](https:\/\/x.com\/mercar4ever\/status\/1895778940280848845) and propeller hat. Others got more creative with it. “I have completely forgotten what the real J.D. Vance looks like at this point,” one person [quipped](https:\/\/x.com\/SperglerAcolyte\/status\/1896669568065806727) on X, sharing an edit of Vance with a neckbeard, one of the most enduring images of the meme era. Though the meme took off this year, its origins stem back to October 2024, when Rep. Mike Collins [posted](https:\/\/x.com\/repmikecollins\/status\/1841462716348678274) a rather yassified looking photo of the VP.\n\n## ‘Everything’s Computer’\n![WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: U.S. President Donald Trump and White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sit in a Tesla Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump spoke out against calls for a boycott of Elon Musk’s companies and said he would purchase a Tesla vehicle in what he calls a ‘show of confidence and support’ for Elon Musk. (Photo by Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-everythings-computer-trump.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images\n\nUnfortunately, Trump is funny sometimes. One of these times was back in March, when Trump checked out a Tesla in front of the White House. Intrigued by the vehicle’s digital touchscreen, he uttered one of the most [perfect sentences](https:\/\/x.com\/KylePlantEmoji\/status\/1899550490729324601) about modern technology in recent memory: “Everything’s computer!” Literally so true. It was an [instant](https:\/\/x.com\/IterIntellectus\/status\/1899790164429263258) [hall-of-famer](https:\/\/x.com\/name_redacted_\/status\/1899854809005781243) [Trumpism](https:\/\/x.com\/afrocosmist\/status\/1899823946771349873), joining the likes of “many such cases” and “Thank you Kanye, very cool!”\n\n## Recession Indicators\n![LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Lady Gaga performs on stage at The O2 Arena on September 29, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein\/Getty Images for Live Nation)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-recession-indicator-gaga.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Samir Hussein\/Getty Images\n\nEconomic anxiety was so back in 2025. With it came a refrain: “That’s a recession indicator.” Almost anything you can think of was probably dubbed a recession indicator this year: [Addison Rae’s music career](https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/article\/addison-rae-made-another-recession-core-music-video.html), the return of [flash mobs](https:\/\/x.com\/stillnotziora\/status\/1908984307869233562), people wearing [business casual to the club](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ladymisskay_\/video\/7240984783189314859), among others. Everywhere you looked, there were signs the economy was sliding into collapse. Though a recession hasn’t officially hit the U.S., it still sounds like it [could be coming](https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/fed-official-warns-us-recession-070000291.html), so keep storing up those recessioncore memes for 2026.\n\n## Ashton Hall’s Morning Routine\n![MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 18: Ashton Hall is seen on April 18, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by 305pics\/GCImages)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-ashton-hall.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : 305pics\/GCImages\n\nGrind culture found a new patron saint in March with fitness influencer [Ashton Hall’s morning routine](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/l8N99V0BWfk). The video is a truly rich text — Hall wakes up at 3:52 a.m., does a bunch of pushups, eats a banana and then rubs the peel on his face, [journals](https:\/\/x.com\/TheTumboy\/status\/1903076182771236907) for exactly three minutes, and dunks his head in a big bowl of Saratoga bottled water not once but [twice](https:\/\/x.com\/redvivisection\/status\/1903138570262679833), all before 9:30 a.m. At one point, he dives off a diving board, and according to the video’s timestamps, is [suspended in midair](https:\/\/x.com\/AlpelDokkan\/status\/1903220925635448967) for four minutes. The video is so ridiculous it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s real, parody, engagement bait, undisclosed sponcon for Saratoga, or some mysterious combination thereof. Whatever it was, the [memes](https:\/\/x.com\/Wahyoenam\/status\/1903702158752850272) [practically](https:\/\/x.com\/wholelottatr3y\/status\/1903485818502529041) [wrote](https:\/\/x.com\/computer_gay\/status\/1903478023371837469) themselves.\n\n## ‘Get Me to God’s Country’\n![SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- Episode 1879 -- Pictured: (l-r) Musical guest Morgan Wallen and host Mikey Madison during Goodnights \\&amp; Credits on Saturday, March 29, 2025 -- (Photo by: Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-morgan-wallen-gods-country.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Will Heath\/NBC\/Getty Images\n\nAt the end of Morgan Wallen’s first *Saturday Night Live* gig in March, he abruptly [bounced](https:\/\/twitter.com\/nbcsnl\/status\/1906220126245880009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1906220126245880009%7Ctwgr%5E7a21d15e71fe88793d1aa79658b1c2ef6716d978%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Few.com%2Fembed%3Furl%3Dhttps3A2F2Fx.com2Fnbcsnl2Fstatus2F1906220126245880009id%3Dmntl-sc-block_6-0-iframeoptions%3De303DdocId%3D11708674), walking offstage midcredits as the rest of the cast (and host Mikey Madison) clapped and hugged it out as they typically do. It was a surprising exit — even more so when, shortly afterwards, he made it clear on his [Instagram Story](https:\/\/x.com\/thesnlnetwork\/status\/1906236386052542857) just how happy he was to take his leave. “Get me to God’s country,” he wrote over a photo of his private plane.\n\nThe phrase became a meme pretty much immediately, a sort of desperate request to abscond to one’s personal slice of paradise, be it the [Rainforest Cafe](https:\/\/x.com\/megannn_lynne\/status\/1906765394959835567), [Neopia](https:\/\/x.com\/tkylemac\/status\/1906547147299783076), or the [Myrtle-Broadway subway stop](https:\/\/x.com\/nycgov\/status\/1906796841049432187) in Brooklyn.\n\n## Katy Perry in Space\n![Katy Perry Comes Back To Earth After Singing On Space Trip \\*\\* STORY AVAILABLE, CONTACT SUPPLIER\\*\\* Where: West Texas, Texas, United States When: 14 Apr 2025 Credit: Blue Origin\/Cover Images \\*\\*EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED SUPPLIER.\\*\\* (Cover Images via AP Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-katy-perry-space.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Cover Images\/AP\n\nIn April, a star-studded, all-women crew — which included Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, and Katy Perry — exited the Earth’s atmosphere for about 10 minutes on a rocket operated by Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin. It was already a not-so-great time to be Perry — everyone was dunking on her latest album, a [2010s throwback](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-album-reviews\/katy-perry-143-review-1235108317\/) no one asked for — and the billionaire-funded space trip just felt like further confirmation she’d lost the plot. Not helping matters: her [saying things](https:\/\/www.elle.com\/culture\/celebrities\/a64341516\/blue-origin-female-flight-crew-space-interview-2025\/) like “space is going to finally be glam” and “we are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut,” singing [“What a Wonderful World”](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/katy-perry-sings-what-a-wonderful-world-historic-all-women-blue-origin-spaceflight\/) at zero gravity, and [kissing the ground](https:\/\/x.com\/Wendys\/status\/1911933396550287524) when she landed. Obviously, it was massively roasted and sparked some [out-of-this-world](https:\/\/x.com\/litcapital\/status\/1911808447923868111) [jokes](https:\/\/x.com\/PanasonicDX4500\/status\/1911785153879326753) and [memes](https:\/\/x.com\/Tom_Smyth_\/status\/1911784370295161315). What a wonderful world, indeed.\n\n## Italian Brain Rot\n![Italian Brain Rot AI Tralalelo tralala](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-italian-brainrot.jpg?w=800)\n\nTralalelo tralala\n\nA new cast of AI-generated creatures with vaguely Italian-sounding names started taking over everyone’s TikTok For You pages in early 2025. First there was [Tralalero Tralala](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@urielgramx\/video\/7493267149444762935), a sneaker-wearing shark. Then emerged [Chimpanzini Bananini](http:\/\/ww.tiktok.com\/@alexey_pigeon\/video\/7481225648258731286) (a chimp-banana hybrid), [Ballerina Cappuccina](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@aironicfun\/video\/7483426614135491862) (a ballet-dancing cup of cappuccino), and [Bombardiro Crocodilo](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@fishy.ai\/video\/7479115355433061654) (a combination crocodile and bomber plane), just to name a few. Not all of them were Italian — [Tung Tung Tung Sahur](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ch0c0p1ez\/video\/7500435704938237202), a wood log with a baseball bat, was Indonesian. The number of characters that emerged from the trend is unclear, though one popular video counts [at least 100](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Fp-59oQng24). If you’re confused, don’t overthink it too much — like so many contenders this year, this is another one of those weird brain-rotty memes that transcends explanation and just sort of *is*. Ballerina Cappuccina, mi mi mi mi\\!\n\n## ‘Grok, Is This True?’\n![The Grok X AI app is used on a mobile phone with the Grok logo visible in the background in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on March 8, 2025. (Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-grok.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Jonathan Raa\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\n\nAs AI chatbot use surged in 2025, the website formerly known as Twitter introduced one of its own: Grok. It quickly became common for users to reply to a tweet and tag Grok, summoning the bot to explain it, often asking, “Grok, is this true?” The phrase soon [became](https:\/\/x.com\/CurtisRemarc\/status\/1949864005348000214) a [meme](https:\/\/x.com\/jzux\/status\/1926346591696261209), with people using it to [mock](https:\/\/x.com\/chefmade_92\/status\/1945083402224336971) growing [over-reliance](https:\/\/x.com\/ShuraLynx\/status\/1915490802173649174) on AI. People did find some solid uses for Grok — namely, using it to [roast](https:\/\/x.com\/stevanzetti\/status\/1991648172050149513?s=12) its [creator](https:\/\/x.com\/mikeisaac\/status\/1991610138445377810?s=12), Elon Musk. Unfortunately, the chatbot did have one major downside, which was that it [really liked](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/elon-musk-grok-chatbot-antisemitic-posts-1235381165\/) Hitler.\n\n## 100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla\n![A male Silverback Gorilla named Asato looks on in his enclosure, at Beauval Zoo, in Saint-Aignan, central France, on August 25, 2025. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT \/ AFP) (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT\/AFP via Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-100-men-vs-gorilla.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : GUILLAUME SOUVANT\/AFP\/Getty Images\n\nWho would win in a fight: 100 men or one gorilla? That was the question on everyone’s minds in April. It wasn’t the first time the topic had [set off](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@yuri5kpt2\/video\/7067705291957079342) [discourse](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@tredouglass\/video\/7465035002112199966) online, but this time, it seriously took off, going viral thanks to a few posts on [TikTok](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@rationalsniper\/video\/7495102104634248479) and [X](https:\/\/x.com\/DreamChasnMike\/status\/1915639645204877538). A lot of people joined in on the [debate](https:\/\/x.com\/iceman4_\/status\/1916135631920791675), or at least got in [some](https:\/\/x.com\/BeSmoove7\/status\/1916522360754053295) [solid](https:\/\/x.com\/gracecamille_\/status\/1916656045990056175) [jokes](https:\/\/x.com\/DijahSB\/status\/1916855200129724627).\n\nSo, what’s the answer? A few primatologists weighed in with their thoughts. Wildlife photographer and conservationist Ron Magill told [*Rolling Stone*](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/100-men-gorilla-debate-who-would-win-1235327636\/) he thinks 100 men *could* defeat the gorilla if they “are committed and go in united,” but it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory. “It could be a kamikaze mission for the men closest to the gorilla,” he said.\n\n## ‘Conclave’ Comes to Life\n![VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MAY 07: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING) Cardinals attends the opening of the Conclave in the sistine Chapel on May 07, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinals of the Catholic Church have descended on Vatican City to commence the papal conclave, the secretive voting process held in the Sistine Chapel that requires a two-thirds majority to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church. The election follows the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. (Photo by Vatican Media\/Vatican Pool - Corbis\/Corbis via Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-conclave.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Vatican Media\/Vatican Pool\/Corbis\/Getty Images\n\nIn May, shortly after the death of Pope Francis, 133 cardinals gathered in the Vatican to select the next pope. Though this is a process that dates back almost 1,000 years, this was the first one since the movie *Conclave* came out in 2024. As such, everyone [suddenly knew](https:\/\/x.com\/Leonsjogren\/status\/1914229676056494352) how conclaves worked and [proved](https:\/\/x.com\/willfulchaos\/status\/1914293384535015919) it with the [most](https:\/\/x.com\/renegadeapostle\/status\/1914229741042938242) [blessed](https:\/\/twitter.com\/saintdutchess\/status\/1920516261294796918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1920516261294796918%7Ctwgr%5E9ef7cb7eeea3dbb1c8a75bcbb27405167595ece1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecut.com%2Farticle%2Fall-the-best-reactions-to-the-new-pope.html) [memes](https:\/\/x.com\/shecononmyclave\/status\/1920108309832450493). People were [stanning](https:\/\/x.com\/ghoulhag\/status\/1920137618299179100) [their](https:\/\/x.com\/every_uno717\/status\/1920259671178559491) [favorite](https:\/\/x.com\/tiramiiiiiiisu\/status\/1914622491709890769) [cardinals](https:\/\/x.com\/gldivittorio\/status\/1920175264849449335), reading all the latest conclave news on [Pope Crave](https:\/\/x.com\/ClubConcrave\/status\/1920132790059782191), and even posted about the [seagulls](https:\/\/x.com\/TheHappyPriest\/status\/1920158180421570969) on the [roof](https:\/\/x.com\/RESP3CT4N\/status\/1920164134164812208) of the Sistine Chapel to pass the time while they awaited white smoke.\n\n## Zendaya Hat Theory\n![NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 05: Zendaya attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating \"Superfine: Tailoring Black Style\" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo\/FilmMagic)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-zendaya-hat-theory.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Theo Wargo\/FilmMagic\n\nWay back in September 2014, Zendaya wore an enormous Armani hat to the *Teen Vogue* Young Hollywood Party. The hat was very big, and the photos were very funny. Flash forward to this May, and the image resurfaced on TikTok, where user [@thesnakesbloxx](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thesnakesbloxx\/video\/7499483469060312322) paired a bunch of low-res clips of the photo with some eerie-sounding audio from Ethel Cain’s *Perverts.* As that TikTok went viral, so did the “Zendaya hat theory” meme — particularly after Zendaya wore *another* big hat to the Met Gala just as the meme was gaining traction.\n\nSo, what *is* the theory? Well, it doesn’t actually exist — the concept was basically just a parody of online conspiracy theories, with a people vaguely suggesting something was hiding under the hat or that it had some cryptic deeper meaning. As far as we could tell, the only thing the hat was covering up was her head.\n\n## With Mama\n![with mama](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-with-mama.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Getty Images\n\nA sort of “don’t talk to [me or my son](https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/juliareinstein\/i-will-re-meme-ber-you) ever again” for the modern age, photos of baby animals “with mama” took over in a huge way throughout 2025. After the first instance — an image of the [solar system](https:\/\/A%20sort%20of%20“don’t%20talk%20to%20me%20or%20my%20son%20ever%20again”%20for%20the%20modern%20age,%20photos%20of%20baby%20animals%20“with%20mama”%20took%20over%20in%20a%20huge%20way%20throughout%202025.%20The%20first%20instance%20—%20thought%20to%20be%20this%20solar%20system%20one%20—%20first%20went%20viral%20on%20Tumblr,%20but%20similarly%20adorable%20memes%20soon%20started%20popping%20up%20on%20Instagram%20and%20had%20major%20staying%20power%20for%20months%20to%20come.) with the caption “let’s orbit around mama” — went viral on [Tumblr](https:\/\/www.tumblr.com\/letsblogwithmama), adorable memes soon started popping up on [Instagram](https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJHgZ-vSlgW) and had major staying power for months to come.\n\n## Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Breakup\n![WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave his role in the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-trump-musk-breakup.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images\n\nIt was the breakup of the year. In June, Elon Musk — who up until this point had been besties with the president — came out against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. Obviously, Trump didn’t take it too well, and the two began [publicly feuding](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/donald-trump-elon-musk-break-up-1235356751\/) on social media, their once close relationship flaming out in spectacular fashion. Who could’ve guessed that two of the biggest egos in federal government would eventually butt heads? Naturally, the very online (including one of Musk’s many [baby mamas](https:\/\/x.com\/stclairashley\/status\/1930691134138855638)) rose to the occasion with some [truly](https:\/\/x.com\/jzux\/status\/1930721473544470779) [excellent](https:\/\/x.com\/herosnvrdie69\/status\/1930709839086338482) [posts](https:\/\/x.com\/Fred_Delicious\/status\/1930718491843121446).\n\n## Standing on Business\nPhoto : DUTCH\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images\n\nIt was quite a year for Justin Bieber — one during which he found himself especially hounded by the celebrity gossip machine. By June, it seems like he’d finally had enough, and he confronted paparazzi outside the Soho House in Malibu. “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” he told the photographers. The [video](https:\/\/x.com\/onlinegirlie\/status\/1933961954827387008) circulated widely, and people clowned on him pretty hard for the sorta cringey and not exactly correct use of [AAVE slang](https:\/\/www.complex.com\/music\/a\/jaelaniturnerwilliams\/justin-bieber-becomes-viral-meme-for-misusing-aave). But “standing on business” became a pretty much inescapable [part](https:\/\/x.com\/MFPWBILJONAS\/status\/1939107244119072904) of the [meme](https:\/\/x.com\/shutyourhell\/status\/1936992278855446853) [lexicon](https:\/\/x.com\/elioandoliverse\/status\/1936847585349619987) after that.\n\n## Nothing Beats a Jet2 Holiday\nPhoto : Joan Valls\/Urbanandsport\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\n\nOne of the most ubiquitous TikTok audios of the year came courtesy of a U.K. tour operator’s [commercial](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YQZEoZ4W0ac) from 2024, showing a family frolicking on vacation. “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday!” a very peppy British woman says in the ad, as Jess Glynne’s 2015 song “Hold My Hand” plays in the background. Soon, people were using the audio over videos of [vacation](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@nenepet99\/video\/7518009850849447175)–[related](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@wsggyumii\/video\/7525805421437734162) [mishaps](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@tishiraatkins\/video\/7568945229059935502). By the middle of the summer, it was [unavoidable.](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-commentary\/jet2-holiday-summer-meme-1235390750\/) Thanks to the trend, “Hold My Hand” was one of [TikTok’s top songs](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/tiktok-connie-francis-2025-top-global-song-1235480832\/) of the year.\n\n## Labubu Matcha Dubai Chocolate\nPhoto : Creative Touch Imaging Ltd.\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\n\nEverywhere you look online, there’s another microtrend being shoveled through the algorithm. In 2025, that creeping ennui of overconsumerist slop [crystallized](https:\/\/x.com\/gomenstruation\/status\/1913043120973054388) [into](https:\/\/x.com\/muggsyOh\/status\/1942626337254178890) a [meme](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@canyoufindmeahouse\/video\/7541278696393493815): “Labubu matcha Dubai chocolate,” a sort of word salad summing up the year’s most inescapable fads — a Nordic-inspired toy, Japanese drink, and pistachio-filled candy bar, respectively. At times, other words and phrases made it into the memes, particularly [Stanley cups](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@alexrein333\/video\/7523675980968267063), [Benson Boone](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@goonmanpercy\/video\/7533060292847193375), [*Love Island*](https:\/\/x.com\/byzantinecopt\/status\/1943730587317285042)*,* and [Crumbl cookies](https:\/\/x.com\/OhioWhomp\/status\/1940894758609780985).\n\n## Performative Males\nPhoto : Zamrznuti tonovi\/Adobe Stock\n\nAre you a guy who carries [feminist lit](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@eionfalance\/video\/7551089450084879629) around in your [tote bag](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@yungjackinnanen\/video\/7541520045025856776)? Do you listen to Clairo in your [wired earbuds](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@stc.1019\/photo\/7536621891411463430) while sipping an [oat milk matcha latte](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@sspencerevans\/video\/7531566121787378974)? Congratulations, you might just be a performative male. Though many terms have been floated in the past for dudes who fake emotional sensitivity and feminist ideals to get into their Hinge date’s pants — “softboy” and “male manipulator,” in particular — “performative male” took off in a big way in 2025. By the summer, “[performative](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@masha_holman\/video\/7536634538928213303) [male](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@rebabeba\/video\/7543489622144273678) [contests](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@namyarfx\/video\/7529309779366300983)” began popping up across the country, with men competing to be crowned the pick-me guy final boss. One could argue that ironically competing in such a contest is perhaps the greatest “performative male” indicator of them all, but that’s a discussion for another day.\n\n## The Coldplay Couple\nPhoto : Ethan Miller\/Getty Images\n\nAt a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts in July, the kiss-cam panned to one unsuspecting couple. A split second after popping up on the Jumbotron, the man and woman — who had been wrapped up in each others’ arms, looking very much in love — suddenly broke apart. The woman turned around, back to the camera, while the man ducked down to the ground. “Oh, look at these two,” Chris Martin said. “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” The public latched onto the idea that it was the former after the two were quickly identified as Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, the CEO and head of HR, respectively, of the tech company Astronomer, both of whom were married to other people.\n\n[Sources](https:\/\/people.com\/astronomer-ceo-and-employee-caught-coldplay-concert-camera-not-having-affair-source-11811796) have since claimed there wasn’t an affair at all — this was just a show of their “excellent working relationship,” and the [divorce](https:\/\/people.com\/husband-of-astronomer-wife-in-coldplay-kiss-cam-controversy-speaks-out-11806074) that came after was in the works before the incident. But at the time it was a rare bit of monoculture, [sparking](https:\/\/x.com\/ericmmatheny\/status\/1945959762241142823) a [ton](https:\/\/x.com\/fuqingaverage\/status\/1945950810342318171) of [jokes](https:\/\/x.com\/DaveMcNamee3000\/status\/1945887790220320939) (even from the pair’s former [company](https:\/\/x.com\/RobertMSterling\/status\/1948911902014545937)) as everyone gobbled up the undeniably juicy scandal of a CEO and HR exec seemingly caught in a very unprofessional act. As one person [wrote](https:\/\/x.com\/greg16676935420\/status\/1946012171491528717) on X, “Shoutout to Coldplay for bringing the whole internet together for one day.”\n\n## Gen Z Stare\nPhoto : Getty Images\n\nIf you’ve ever spoken to a teen or twentysomething and been met with a blank stare and silence, you’ve probably experienced the so-called “Gen Z stare.” The term refers to the [dead-eyed look](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@trevonwoodburyy\/video\/7526263930897878302) zoomers supposedly give older people when asked a question, often in [classrooms](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@mikayladane13\/video\/7526572751755185463) or [customer service](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@yoleendadong\/video\/7532319748596436280) settings (or when you’re [Sydney Sweeney](https:\/\/x.com\/PandasAndVidya\/status\/1986625801593180495) being asked about your jeans ad). The concept of a “Gen Z stare” started gaining traction on TikTok in July, though members of the generation were quick to deny its existence, with many defending it as a valid reaction to dealing with stupid people. “Your question was so idiotic it reset my brain,” one TikToker [wrote](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@misa._.ann\/video\/7526039889284975902).\n\n## Taylor Swift Brings the Boas\nPhoto : Emily Curiel\/Kansas City Star\/Tribune News Service\/Getty Images\n\nIn case you hadn’t heard, it was a pretty big year for Taylor Swift. Between buying [back her masters](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/taylor-swift-buys-original-album-recordings-1235351164\/) and bringing an [entire new audience](https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/tv\/news\/taylor-swift-nfl-women-fans-1236542207\/) to the NFL, she somehow found time to roll out a whole new album. After she [announced](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/taylor-swift-new-album-the-life-of-a-showgirl-1235350951\/) *The Life of a Showgirl* on the Kelce brothers’ podcast in August, it basically took over the zeitgeist, filling everyone’s feeds with memes of other [sparkly](https:\/\/x.com\/gilmxres\/status\/1955251645714956735), [feather-boa–wearing](https:\/\/x.com\/hayleyepiphany\/status\/1955130323164926403) icons. That’s [showbiz](https:\/\/x.com\/drewg_t\/status\/1955394660911944193), babe.\n\n## The Rapture\nPhoto : Getty Images\n\nThe Rapture has been incorrectly predicted more than a few times throughout history, but never has it happened in such an online way. In September, a handful of Evangelical Christians thought the world was going to end, and it became a [whole](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@kingdomwealth_christina\/video\/7550406835736431903) [thing](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@tilahun.desalegn\/video\/7540456941437472008) on TikTok. The prophecy came by way of South African pastor [Joshua Mhlakela](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/rapture-tiktok-christianity-bible-1235433294\/), who in a sermon posted to [YouTube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bSfKjB9xkPM), claimed Jesus Christ had personally told him the Rapture would take place on Sept. 23 or 24. Well, apparently either Jesus or Joshua was wrong, but everyone had a [lot](https:\/\/x.com\/missmilkton\/status\/1970317753463517358) [of](https:\/\/x.com\/zoerosebryant\/status\/1970197569348227230) [fun](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@itsjennalu\/video\/7553099914151021838) anyway.\n\n## 6-7\nPhoto : CHRIS DELMAS\/AFP\/Getty Images\n\nSome memes have a fascinating, deep inner meaning. This one does not. Perhaps the most significant Gen Alpha meme to date (sorry, [Skibidi Toilet](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2023-1234918358\/angela-basset-did-the-thing-1234919955\/)), shouts of “[six seven](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/six-seven-meme-explained-skrilla-rap-1235463481\/)” became all but inescapable in middle school classrooms across the country this fall. It initially took off among basketball fans — the phrase first appeared in Skrilla’s song [“Doot Doot (6 7)”](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XnygT6ANLzQ), which then became the soundtrack to a ton of TikTok edits of NBA stars, particularly six-foot-seven [LaMelo Ball](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ballisticeditz06\/video\/7475643830566391071).\n\nSo, what does it mean? Well, basically nothing. After reaching ubiquity on TikTok, the phrase just became a thing kids couldn’t stop saying, a mass inside joke only made funnier by the fact that teachers and parents didn’t get it. That is, until [Halloween](https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/article\/most-popular-halloween-costume-2025-six-seven.html), when many of these lame grownups dressed up as “six seven,” thus immediately making it cringe and freeing us all.\n\n## Group 7\nSophia James, the artist behind the Group 7 meme.\n\nPhoto : Stephanie Saias\\*\n\nIn October, while promoting her new song, Australian singer-songwriter Sophia James posted seven different TikToks as a “little science experiment to see what video gets the most reach.” In the [seventh video](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@sophiajamesmusic\/video\/7562061800192183583), she told her audience as much. “If you are watching this video, you are in Group 7,” she said. For whatever elusive reason the TikTok algorithm decreed, that’s the one that went viral. Soon, people all over TikTok were making TikToks [proclaiming](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@daydreamwithjas\/video\/7564033536076877074) their [Group 7](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@cassiesbooktok\/video\/7563753170715823371) [pride](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@catrionathomas\/video\/7564001226623421718). The children long for school spirit week.\n\n#### In this article:\n- [Best of 2025,](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/best-of-2025\/)\n- [internet culture,](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/internet-culture\/)\n- [memes](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/memes\/)\n\n- [Culture](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/)\n- [(Sub)Culture Lists](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/)\n\n### More News\n- [![British children's author, short-story writer, playwright and versifier Roald Dahl (1916 - 1995), 11th December 1971. 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(Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-rollingstone-2022\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/clavicular-quitting-substances-after-suspected-overdose-1235548150\/)\n  \n  ### [Clavicular Says He’s Quitting ‘Substances’ ‘Hopefully Forever’ After Suspected Overdose](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/clavicular-quitting-substances-after-suspected-overdose-1235548150\/)\n  - Sober\n  \n  - By\n    [Kory Grow](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/author\/kory-grow\/)\n- [!['Not a PR Stunt': Alex Cooper and Alix Earle Feud Escalates as Brianna Chickenfry Enters the Chat](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-rollingstone-2022\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/alex-cooper-alix-earle-feud-brianna-chickenfry-lapaglia-1235548082\/)\n  \n  ### [‘Not a PR Stunt’: Alex Cooper and Alix Earle Feud Escalates as Brianna LaPaglia Enters the Chat](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/alex-cooper-alix-earle-feud-brianna-chickenfry-lapaglia-1235548082\/)\n  - Three’s Company\n  \n  - By\n    [Charisma Madarang](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/author\/charisma-madarang\/)\n\n[Read more](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/)\n\n- ### [Long-Shelved Series 'The Savant' Finally Arriving on Apple TV This Summer](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/tv-movies\/tv-movie-news\/long-shelved-series-the-savant-apple-tv-summer-1235550153\/)\n  - Off the Shelf\n  \n  - 7 hours ago\n- ### ['Nine Inch Noize' Is Trent Reznor's EDM Victory Dance](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-album-reviews\/nine-inch-nails-boys-noize-nine-inch-noize-album-review-1235547301\/)\n  - Album Review\n  \n  - Apr 19, 2026 2:19 pm\n- ### [See Justin Bieber Bring Out Billie Eilish, SZA at Second Coachella Show](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/justin-bieber-billie-eilish-sza-coachella-weekend-two-show-1235550107\/)\n  - Coachella 2026\n  \n  - Apr 19, 2026 12:01 pm\n- ### [Tory Lanez Sues California Prison System for \\$100 Million Over Stabbing](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/tory-lanez-california-prison-system-lawsuit-stabbing-1235550012\/)\n  - Courts and Crime\n  \n  - Apr 18, 2026 2:31 pm\n\n### Top stories newsletter\nA Cultural Force That Transcends Generations\n\nBy providing your information, you agree to our [Terms of Use](https:\/\/pmc.com\/terms-of-use) and our [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/pmc.com\/privacy-policy). 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[Gift Guides](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/gift-guide\/)\n- [Culture Council](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture-council\/)\n\nSubscription Icon\n\n![25 Best Memes of 2025](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/R1410-COV-Future-of-Music_Lola-Young.jpg?w=788)\n\nFollow Us\n\n- [Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RollingStone\/ \"Facebook\")\n- [Instagram](https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rollingstone\/ \"Instagram\")\n- [TikTok](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@rollingstone?lang=en \"TikTok\")\n- [X](https:\/\/twitter.com\/RollingStone \"X\")\n- [YouTube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/rollingstone \"YouTube\")\n\nAlerts & Newsletters\n\nBy providing your information, you agree to our [Terms of Use](https:\/\/pmc.com\/terms-of-use) and our [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/pmc.com\/privacy-policy). We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.\n\nad","attrs_readable_markdown":"[Skip to main content](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2025-1235467154\/#pagetop)\n\n## The 25 Best Memes of 2025\n![The 25 Best Memes of 2025](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Best-Meme.jpg?w=1581&h=1054&crop=1)\n\nPhoto illustration by Matthew Cooley\n\nAs we say our goodbyes to 2025, we must bid adieu to the memes that came with it. It was a surreal year on the internet — many of this year’s memes leaned heavily into the brain rot that’s come with the rise of AI and over-consumerism, though others sprang out of good old-fashioned candid camera moments. Trump was back in office, Katy Perry was in space, and kids everywhere were screaming “six seven” for some reason, before adults co-opted it and made it cringe. Presented to you in roughly the order they came into our lives, let’s take a walk through the memes that defined 2025 — for better and for worse.\n\nPhotographs in illustration\n\nEmma McIntyre\/Getty Images; Blue Origin\/Cover Images\/AP; Johannes Simon\/Getty Images; Joe Raedle\/Getty Images\n\n![nachos and cheese in tray with beer shot close up](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-reheat-nachos.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Getty Images\n\nPerhaps the greatest bit of slang to come out of Stan Twitter this year was “reheating nachos,” a phrase usually wielded against pop stars to accuse them of lacking originality. Basically, if you’re reheating someone’s nachos, you’re copying them or piggybacking off their creativity. Though the phrase originated on the reality show *Baddies West* in 2023, per [*KnowYourMeme*](https:\/\/knowyourmeme.com\/memes\/reheating-nachos-reheat-nachos)*,* it caught fire this year (reheated, really) as a meme. Doja Cat was accused of [reheating](https:\/\/x.com\/dojaspetcat\/status\/1919388268933878060) Sabrina Carpenter’s nachos (and vice versa), while Lady Gaga was [charged](https:\/\/x.com\/jovarca1000000\/status\/1890098231734071309) with reheating Madonna’s nachos, and Tate McCrae [with](https:\/\/x.com\/asherw01fe\/status\/1883755341369978949) Britney Spears’. Beyoncé, however, faced no nacho allegations — “She is the tortilla industry,” as one person [put it](https:\/\/x.com\/roomfmate\/status\/1886453427754115381).\n\n![NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 09: Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-kendrick-lamar-sb-show.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images\n\nWhat a halftime show we had this year. It’s not every Super Bowl you get to see the [greatest rap beef](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/drake-kendrick-lamar-beef-explained-1235015540\/) in years get aired out live for all the world to watch. Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us” was one of the most talked-about halftime moments in ages — particularly after Lamar turned directly to face the camera when he name-checked Drake, flashing a giant, [mischievous grin](https:\/\/x.com\/Phil_Lewis_\/status\/1888765939153281199). The performance — which came one week after “Not Like Us” swept at the Grammys — was the knockout punch in the rappers’ feud, and the image of Lamar beaming ear-to-ear set off a [ton](https:\/\/x.com\/PallaviGunalan\/status\/1888765722647568436) [of](https:\/\/x.com\/sad_oat\/status\/1888996047428436212) [memes](https:\/\/x.com\/wishescametrue\/status\/1888980388250321195).\n\n![JD Vance Memes](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-fat-JD.jpg?w=800)\n\nClose your eyes for a moment. Picture our sitting vice president. What does he look like? Are you sure? In March, following Trump’s tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, photoshopped images of J.D. Vance had a [huge moment](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-commentary\/jd-vance-meme-immigration-1235371114\/) online, with the fine artists of the internet coming up with increasingly ridiculous edits of him. Many of them showed him as a chubby-cheeked [toddler](https:\/\/x.com\/barflugnarven\/status\/1895590112828010945), often pictured with a [lollipop](https:\/\/x.com\/mercar4ever\/status\/1895778940280848845) and propeller hat. Others got more creative with it. “I have completely forgotten what the real J.D. Vance looks like at this point,” one person [quipped](https:\/\/x.com\/SperglerAcolyte\/status\/1896669568065806727) on X, sharing an edit of Vance with a neckbeard, one of the most enduring images of the meme era. Though the meme took off this year, its origins stem back to October 2024, when Rep. Mike Collins [posted](https:\/\/x.com\/repmikecollins\/status\/1841462716348678274) a rather yassified looking photo of the VP.\n\n![WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: U.S. President Donald Trump and White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sit in a Tesla Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump spoke out against calls for a boycott of Elon Musk’s companies and said he would purchase a Tesla vehicle in what he calls a ‘show of confidence and support’ for Elon Musk. (Photo by Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-everythings-computer-trump.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images\n\nUnfortunately, Trump is funny sometimes. One of these times was back in March, when Trump checked out a Tesla in front of the White House. Intrigued by the vehicle’s digital touchscreen, he uttered one of the most [perfect sentences](https:\/\/x.com\/KylePlantEmoji\/status\/1899550490729324601) about modern technology in recent memory: “Everything’s computer!” Literally so true. It was an [instant](https:\/\/x.com\/IterIntellectus\/status\/1899790164429263258) [hall-of-famer](https:\/\/x.com\/name_redacted_\/status\/1899854809005781243) [Trumpism](https:\/\/x.com\/afrocosmist\/status\/1899823946771349873), joining the likes of “many such cases” and “Thank you Kanye, very cool!”\n\n![LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Lady Gaga performs on stage at The O2 Arena on September 29, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein\/Getty Images for Live Nation)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-recession-indicator-gaga.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Samir Hussein\/Getty Images\n\nEconomic anxiety was so back in 2025. With it came a refrain: “That’s a recession indicator.” Almost anything you can think of was probably dubbed a recession indicator this year: [Addison Rae’s music career](https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/article\/addison-rae-made-another-recession-core-music-video.html), the return of [flash mobs](https:\/\/x.com\/stillnotziora\/status\/1908984307869233562), people wearing [business casual to the club](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ladymisskay_\/video\/7240984783189314859), among others. Everywhere you looked, there were signs the economy was sliding into collapse. Though a recession hasn’t officially hit the U.S., it still sounds like it [could be coming](https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/fed-official-warns-us-recession-070000291.html), so keep storing up those recessioncore memes for 2026.\n\n![MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 18: Ashton Hall is seen on April 18, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by 305pics\/GCImages)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-ashton-hall.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : 305pics\/GCImages\n\nGrind culture found a new patron saint in March with fitness influencer [Ashton Hall’s morning routine](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/l8N99V0BWfk). The video is a truly rich text — Hall wakes up at 3:52 a.m., does a bunch of pushups, eats a banana and then rubs the peel on his face, [journals](https:\/\/x.com\/TheTumboy\/status\/1903076182771236907) for exactly three minutes, and dunks his head in a big bowl of Saratoga bottled water not once but [twice](https:\/\/x.com\/redvivisection\/status\/1903138570262679833), all before 9:30 a.m. At one point, he dives off a diving board, and according to the video’s timestamps, is [suspended in midair](https:\/\/x.com\/AlpelDokkan\/status\/1903220925635448967) for four minutes. The video is so ridiculous it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s real, parody, engagement bait, undisclosed sponcon for Saratoga, or some mysterious combination thereof. Whatever it was, the [memes](https:\/\/x.com\/Wahyoenam\/status\/1903702158752850272) [practically](https:\/\/x.com\/wholelottatr3y\/status\/1903485818502529041) [wrote](https:\/\/x.com\/computer_gay\/status\/1903478023371837469) themselves.\n\n![SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- Episode 1879 -- Pictured: (l-r) Musical guest Morgan Wallen and host Mikey Madison during Goodnights \\&amp; Credits on Saturday, March 29, 2025 -- (Photo by: Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-morgan-wallen-gods-country.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Will Heath\/NBC\/Getty Images\n\nAt the end of Morgan Wallen’s first *Saturday Night Live* gig in March, he abruptly [bounced](https:\/\/twitter.com\/nbcsnl\/status\/1906220126245880009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1906220126245880009%7Ctwgr%5E7a21d15e71fe88793d1aa79658b1c2ef6716d978%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Few.com%2Fembed%3Furl%3Dhttps3A2F2Fx.com2Fnbcsnl2Fstatus2F1906220126245880009id%3Dmntl-sc-block_6-0-iframeoptions%3De303DdocId%3D11708674), walking offstage midcredits as the rest of the cast (and host Mikey Madison) clapped and hugged it out as they typically do. It was a surprising exit — even more so when, shortly afterwards, he made it clear on his [Instagram Story](https:\/\/x.com\/thesnlnetwork\/status\/1906236386052542857) just how happy he was to take his leave. “Get me to God’s country,” he wrote over a photo of his private plane.\n\nThe phrase became a meme pretty much immediately, a sort of desperate request to abscond to one’s personal slice of paradise, be it the [Rainforest Cafe](https:\/\/x.com\/megannn_lynne\/status\/1906765394959835567), [Neopia](https:\/\/x.com\/tkylemac\/status\/1906547147299783076), or the [Myrtle-Broadway subway stop](https:\/\/x.com\/nycgov\/status\/1906796841049432187) in Brooklyn.\n\n![Katy Perry Comes Back To Earth After Singing On Space Trip \\*\\* STORY AVAILABLE, CONTACT SUPPLIER\\*\\* Where: West Texas, Texas, United States When: 14 Apr 2025 Credit: Blue Origin\/Cover Images \\*\\*EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED SUPPLIER.\\*\\* (Cover Images via AP Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-katy-perry-space.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Cover Images\/AP\n\nIn April, a star-studded, all-women crew — which included Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, and Katy Perry — exited the Earth’s atmosphere for about 10 minutes on a rocket operated by Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin. It was already a not-so-great time to be Perry — everyone was dunking on her latest album, a [2010s throwback](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-album-reviews\/katy-perry-143-review-1235108317\/) no one asked for — and the billionaire-funded space trip just felt like further confirmation she’d lost the plot. Not helping matters: her [saying things](https:\/\/www.elle.com\/culture\/celebrities\/a64341516\/blue-origin-female-flight-crew-space-interview-2025\/) like “space is going to finally be glam” and “we are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut,” singing [“What a Wonderful World”](https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/katy-perry-sings-what-a-wonderful-world-historic-all-women-blue-origin-spaceflight\/) at zero gravity, and [kissing the ground](https:\/\/x.com\/Wendys\/status\/1911933396550287524) when she landed. Obviously, it was massively roasted and sparked some [out-of-this-world](https:\/\/x.com\/litcapital\/status\/1911808447923868111) [jokes](https:\/\/x.com\/PanasonicDX4500\/status\/1911785153879326753) and [memes](https:\/\/x.com\/Tom_Smyth_\/status\/1911784370295161315). What a wonderful world, indeed.\n\n![Italian Brain Rot AI Tralalelo tralala](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-italian-brainrot.jpg?w=800)\n\nA new cast of AI-generated creatures with vaguely Italian-sounding names started taking over everyone’s TikTok For You pages in early 2025. First there was [Tralalero Tralala](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@urielgramx\/video\/7493267149444762935), a sneaker-wearing shark. Then emerged [Chimpanzini Bananini](http:\/\/ww.tiktok.com\/@alexey_pigeon\/video\/7481225648258731286) (a chimp-banana hybrid), [Ballerina Cappuccina](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@aironicfun\/video\/7483426614135491862) (a ballet-dancing cup of cappuccino), and [Bombardiro Crocodilo](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@fishy.ai\/video\/7479115355433061654) (a combination crocodile and bomber plane), just to name a few. Not all of them were Italian — [Tung Tung Tung Sahur](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ch0c0p1ez\/video\/7500435704938237202), a wood log with a baseball bat, was Indonesian. The number of characters that emerged from the trend is unclear, though one popular video counts [at least 100](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Fp-59oQng24). If you’re confused, don’t overthink it too much — like so many contenders this year, this is another one of those weird brain-rotty memes that transcends explanation and just sort of *is*. Ballerina Cappuccina, mi mi mi mi\\!\n\n![The Grok X AI app is used on a mobile phone with the Grok logo visible in the background in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on March 8, 2025. (Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-grok.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Jonathan Raa\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\n\nAs AI chatbot use surged in 2025, the website formerly known as Twitter introduced one of its own: Grok. It quickly became common for users to reply to a tweet and tag Grok, summoning the bot to explain it, often asking, “Grok, is this true?” The phrase soon [became](https:\/\/x.com\/CurtisRemarc\/status\/1949864005348000214) a [meme](https:\/\/x.com\/jzux\/status\/1926346591696261209), with people using it to [mock](https:\/\/x.com\/chefmade_92\/status\/1945083402224336971) growing [over-reliance](https:\/\/x.com\/ShuraLynx\/status\/1915490802173649174) on AI. People did find some solid uses for Grok — namely, using it to [roast](https:\/\/x.com\/stevanzetti\/status\/1991648172050149513?s=12) its [creator](https:\/\/x.com\/mikeisaac\/status\/1991610138445377810?s=12), Elon Musk. Unfortunately, the chatbot did have one major downside, which was that it [really liked](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/elon-musk-grok-chatbot-antisemitic-posts-1235381165\/) Hitler.\n\n![A male Silverback Gorilla named Asato looks on in his enclosure, at Beauval Zoo, in Saint-Aignan, central France, on August 25, 2025. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT \/ AFP) (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT\/AFP via Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-100-men-vs-gorilla.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : GUILLAUME SOUVANT\/AFP\/Getty Images\n\nWho would win in a fight: 100 men or one gorilla? That was the question on everyone’s minds in April. It wasn’t the first time the topic had [set off](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@yuri5kpt2\/video\/7067705291957079342) [discourse](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@tredouglass\/video\/7465035002112199966) online, but this time, it seriously took off, going viral thanks to a few posts on [TikTok](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@rationalsniper\/video\/7495102104634248479) and [X](https:\/\/x.com\/DreamChasnMike\/status\/1915639645204877538). A lot of people joined in on the [debate](https:\/\/x.com\/iceman4_\/status\/1916135631920791675), or at least got in [some](https:\/\/x.com\/BeSmoove7\/status\/1916522360754053295) [solid](https:\/\/x.com\/gracecamille_\/status\/1916656045990056175) [jokes](https:\/\/x.com\/DijahSB\/status\/1916855200129724627).\n\nSo, what’s the answer? A few primatologists weighed in with their thoughts. Wildlife photographer and conservationist Ron Magill told [*Rolling Stone*](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/100-men-gorilla-debate-who-would-win-1235327636\/) he thinks 100 men *could* defeat the gorilla if they “are committed and go in united,” but it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory. “It could be a kamikaze mission for the men closest to the gorilla,” he said.\n\n![VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MAY 07: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING) Cardinals attends the opening of the Conclave in the sistine Chapel on May 07, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinals of the Catholic Church have descended on Vatican City to commence the papal conclave, the secretive voting process held in the Sistine Chapel that requires a two-thirds majority to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church. The election follows the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. (Photo by Vatican Media\/Vatican Pool - Corbis\/Corbis via Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-conclave.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Vatican Media\/Vatican Pool\/Corbis\/Getty Images\n\nIn May, shortly after the death of Pope Francis, 133 cardinals gathered in the Vatican to select the next pope. Though this is a process that dates back almost 1,000 years, this was the first one since the movie *Conclave* came out in 2024. As such, everyone [suddenly knew](https:\/\/x.com\/Leonsjogren\/status\/1914229676056494352) how conclaves worked and [proved](https:\/\/x.com\/willfulchaos\/status\/1914293384535015919) it with the [most](https:\/\/x.com\/renegadeapostle\/status\/1914229741042938242) [blessed](https:\/\/twitter.com\/saintdutchess\/status\/1920516261294796918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1920516261294796918%7Ctwgr%5E9ef7cb7eeea3dbb1c8a75bcbb27405167595ece1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecut.com%2Farticle%2Fall-the-best-reactions-to-the-new-pope.html) [memes](https:\/\/x.com\/shecononmyclave\/status\/1920108309832450493). People were [stanning](https:\/\/x.com\/ghoulhag\/status\/1920137618299179100) [their](https:\/\/x.com\/every_uno717\/status\/1920259671178559491) [favorite](https:\/\/x.com\/tiramiiiiiiisu\/status\/1914622491709890769) [cardinals](https:\/\/x.com\/gldivittorio\/status\/1920175264849449335), reading all the latest conclave news on [Pope Crave](https:\/\/x.com\/ClubConcrave\/status\/1920132790059782191), and even posted about the [seagulls](https:\/\/x.com\/TheHappyPriest\/status\/1920158180421570969) on the [roof](https:\/\/x.com\/RESP3CT4N\/status\/1920164134164812208) of the Sistine Chapel to pass the time while they awaited white smoke.\n\n![NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 05: Zendaya attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating \"Superfine: Tailoring Black Style\" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo\/FilmMagic)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-zendaya-hat-theory.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Theo Wargo\/FilmMagic\n\nWay back in September 2014, Zendaya wore an enormous Armani hat to the *Teen Vogue* Young Hollywood Party. The hat was very big, and the photos were very funny. Flash forward to this May, and the image resurfaced on TikTok, where user [@thesnakesbloxx](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thesnakesbloxx\/video\/7499483469060312322) paired a bunch of low-res clips of the photo with some eerie-sounding audio from Ethel Cain’s *Perverts.* As that TikTok went viral, so did the “Zendaya hat theory” meme — particularly after Zendaya wore *another* big hat to the Met Gala just as the meme was gaining traction.\n\nSo, what *is* the theory? Well, it doesn’t actually exist — the concept was basically just a parody of online conspiracy theories, with a people vaguely suggesting something was hiding under the hat or that it had some cryptic deeper meaning. As far as we could tell, the only thing the hat was covering up was her head.\n\n![with mama](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-with-mama.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Getty Images\n\nA sort of “don’t talk to [me or my son](https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/juliareinstein\/i-will-re-meme-ber-you) ever again” for the modern age, photos of baby animals “with mama” took over in a huge way throughout 2025. After the first instance — an image of the [solar system](https:\/\/A%20sort%20of%20“don’t%20talk%20to%20me%20or%20my%20son%20ever%20again”%20for%20the%20modern%20age,%20photos%20of%20baby%20animals%20“with%20mama”%20took%20over%20in%20a%20huge%20way%20throughout%202025.%20The%20first%20instance%20—%20thought%20to%20be%20this%20solar%20system%20one%20—%20first%20went%20viral%20on%20Tumblr,%20but%20similarly%20adorable%20memes%20soon%20started%20popping%20up%20on%20Instagram%20and%20had%20major%20staying%20power%20for%20months%20to%20come.) with the caption “let’s orbit around mama” — went viral on [Tumblr](https:\/\/www.tumblr.com\/letsblogwithmama), adorable memes soon started popping up on [Instagram](https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJHgZ-vSlgW) and had major staying power for months to come.\n\n![WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave his role in the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/eoy-memes-trump-musk-breakup.jpg?w=800)\n\nPhoto : Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images\n\nIt was the breakup of the year. In June, Elon Musk — who up until this point had been besties with the president — came out against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. Obviously, Trump didn’t take it too well, and the two began [publicly feuding](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/donald-trump-elon-musk-break-up-1235356751\/) on social media, their once close relationship flaming out in spectacular fashion. Who could’ve guessed that two of the biggest egos in federal government would eventually butt heads? Naturally, the very online (including one of Musk’s many [baby mamas](https:\/\/x.com\/stclairashley\/status\/1930691134138855638)) rose to the occasion with some [truly](https:\/\/x.com\/jzux\/status\/1930721473544470779) [excellent](https:\/\/x.com\/herosnvrdie69\/status\/1930709839086338482) [posts](https:\/\/x.com\/Fred_Delicious\/status\/1930718491843121446).\n\nPhoto : DUTCH\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images\n\nIt was quite a year for Justin Bieber — one during which he found himself especially hounded by the celebrity gossip machine. By June, it seems like he’d finally had enough, and he confronted paparazzi outside the Soho House in Malibu. “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” he told the photographers. The [video](https:\/\/x.com\/onlinegirlie\/status\/1933961954827387008) circulated widely, and people clowned on him pretty hard for the sorta cringey and not exactly correct use of [AAVE slang](https:\/\/www.complex.com\/music\/a\/jaelaniturnerwilliams\/justin-bieber-becomes-viral-meme-for-misusing-aave). But “standing on business” became a pretty much inescapable [part](https:\/\/x.com\/MFPWBILJONAS\/status\/1939107244119072904) of the [meme](https:\/\/x.com\/shutyourhell\/status\/1936992278855446853) [lexicon](https:\/\/x.com\/elioandoliverse\/status\/1936847585349619987) after that.\n\nPhoto : Joan Valls\/Urbanandsport\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\n\nOne of the most ubiquitous TikTok audios of the year came courtesy of a U.K. tour operator’s [commercial](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YQZEoZ4W0ac) from 2024, showing a family frolicking on vacation. “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday!” a very peppy British woman says in the ad, as Jess Glynne’s 2015 song “Hold My Hand” plays in the background. Soon, people were using the audio over videos of [vacation](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@nenepet99\/video\/7518009850849447175)–[related](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@wsggyumii\/video\/7525805421437734162) [mishaps](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@tishiraatkins\/video\/7568945229059935502). By the middle of the summer, it was [unavoidable.](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-commentary\/jet2-holiday-summer-meme-1235390750\/) Thanks to the trend, “Hold My Hand” was one of [TikTok’s top songs](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/tiktok-connie-francis-2025-top-global-song-1235480832\/) of the year.\n\nPhoto : Creative Touch Imaging Ltd.\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images\n\nEverywhere you look online, there’s another microtrend being shoveled through the algorithm. In 2025, that creeping ennui of overconsumerist slop [crystallized](https:\/\/x.com\/gomenstruation\/status\/1913043120973054388) [into](https:\/\/x.com\/muggsyOh\/status\/1942626337254178890) a [meme](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@canyoufindmeahouse\/video\/7541278696393493815): “Labubu matcha Dubai chocolate,” a sort of word salad summing up the year’s most inescapable fads — a Nordic-inspired toy, Japanese drink, and pistachio-filled candy bar, respectively. At times, other words and phrases made it into the memes, particularly [Stanley cups](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@alexrein333\/video\/7523675980968267063), [Benson Boone](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@goonmanpercy\/video\/7533060292847193375), [*Love Island*](https:\/\/x.com\/byzantinecopt\/status\/1943730587317285042)*,* and [Crumbl cookies](https:\/\/x.com\/OhioWhomp\/status\/1940894758609780985).\n\nPhoto : Zamrznuti tonovi\/Adobe Stock\n\nAre you a guy who carries [feminist lit](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@eionfalance\/video\/7551089450084879629) around in your [tote bag](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@yungjackinnanen\/video\/7541520045025856776)? Do you listen to Clairo in your [wired earbuds](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@stc.1019\/photo\/7536621891411463430) while sipping an [oat milk matcha latte](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@sspencerevans\/video\/7531566121787378974)? Congratulations, you might just be a performative male. Though many terms have been floated in the past for dudes who fake emotional sensitivity and feminist ideals to get into their Hinge date’s pants — “softboy” and “male manipulator,” in particular — “performative male” took off in a big way in 2025. By the summer, “[performative](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@masha_holman\/video\/7536634538928213303) [male](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@rebabeba\/video\/7543489622144273678) [contests](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@namyarfx\/video\/7529309779366300983)” began popping up across the country, with men competing to be crowned the pick-me guy final boss. One could argue that ironically competing in such a contest is perhaps the greatest “performative male” indicator of them all, but that’s a discussion for another day.\n\nPhoto : Ethan Miller\/Getty Images\n\nAt a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts in July, the kiss-cam panned to one unsuspecting couple. A split second after popping up on the Jumbotron, the man and woman — who had been wrapped up in each others’ arms, looking very much in love — suddenly broke apart. The woman turned around, back to the camera, while the man ducked down to the ground. “Oh, look at these two,” Chris Martin said. “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” The public latched onto the idea that it was the former after the two were quickly identified as Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, the CEO and head of HR, respectively, of the tech company Astronomer, both of whom were married to other people.\n\n[Sources](https:\/\/people.com\/astronomer-ceo-and-employee-caught-coldplay-concert-camera-not-having-affair-source-11811796) have since claimed there wasn’t an affair at all — this was just a show of their “excellent working relationship,” and the [divorce](https:\/\/people.com\/husband-of-astronomer-wife-in-coldplay-kiss-cam-controversy-speaks-out-11806074) that came after was in the works before the incident. But at the time it was a rare bit of monoculture, [sparking](https:\/\/x.com\/ericmmatheny\/status\/1945959762241142823) a [ton](https:\/\/x.com\/fuqingaverage\/status\/1945950810342318171) of [jokes](https:\/\/x.com\/DaveMcNamee3000\/status\/1945887790220320939) (even from the pair’s former [company](https:\/\/x.com\/RobertMSterling\/status\/1948911902014545937)) as everyone gobbled up the undeniably juicy scandal of a CEO and HR exec seemingly caught in a very unprofessional act. As one person [wrote](https:\/\/x.com\/greg16676935420\/status\/1946012171491528717) on X, “Shoutout to Coldplay for bringing the whole internet together for one day.”\n\nPhoto : Getty Images\n\nIf you’ve ever spoken to a teen or twentysomething and been met with a blank stare and silence, you’ve probably experienced the so-called “Gen Z stare.” The term refers to the [dead-eyed look](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@trevonwoodburyy\/video\/7526263930897878302) zoomers supposedly give older people when asked a question, often in [classrooms](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@mikayladane13\/video\/7526572751755185463) or [customer service](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@yoleendadong\/video\/7532319748596436280) settings (or when you’re [Sydney Sweeney](https:\/\/x.com\/PandasAndVidya\/status\/1986625801593180495) being asked about your jeans ad). The concept of a “Gen Z stare” started gaining traction on TikTok in July, though members of the generation were quick to deny its existence, with many defending it as a valid reaction to dealing with stupid people. “Your question was so idiotic it reset my brain,” one TikToker [wrote](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@misa._.ann\/video\/7526039889284975902).\n\nPhoto : Emily Curiel\/Kansas City Star\/Tribune News Service\/Getty Images\n\nIn case you hadn’t heard, it was a pretty big year for Taylor Swift. Between buying [back her masters](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/taylor-swift-buys-original-album-recordings-1235351164\/) and bringing an [entire new audience](https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/tv\/news\/taylor-swift-nfl-women-fans-1236542207\/) to the NFL, she somehow found time to roll out a whole new album. After she [announced](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/taylor-swift-new-album-the-life-of-a-showgirl-1235350951\/) *The Life of a Showgirl* on the Kelce brothers’ podcast in August, it basically took over the zeitgeist, filling everyone’s feeds with memes of other [sparkly](https:\/\/x.com\/gilmxres\/status\/1955251645714956735), [feather-boa–wearing](https:\/\/x.com\/hayleyepiphany\/status\/1955130323164926403) icons. That’s [showbiz](https:\/\/x.com\/drewg_t\/status\/1955394660911944193), babe.\n\nPhoto : Getty Images\n\nThe Rapture has been incorrectly predicted more than a few times throughout history, but never has it happened in such an online way. In September, a handful of Evangelical Christians thought the world was going to end, and it became a [whole](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@kingdomwealth_christina\/video\/7550406835736431903) [thing](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@tilahun.desalegn\/video\/7540456941437472008) on TikTok. The prophecy came by way of South African pastor [Joshua Mhlakela](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/rapture-tiktok-christianity-bible-1235433294\/), who in a sermon posted to [YouTube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bSfKjB9xkPM), claimed Jesus Christ had personally told him the Rapture would take place on Sept. 23 or 24. Well, apparently either Jesus or Joshua was wrong, but everyone had a [lot](https:\/\/x.com\/missmilkton\/status\/1970317753463517358) [of](https:\/\/x.com\/zoerosebryant\/status\/1970197569348227230) [fun](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@itsjennalu\/video\/7553099914151021838) anyway.\n\nPhoto : CHRIS DELMAS\/AFP\/Getty Images\n\nSome memes have a fascinating, deep inner meaning. This one does not. Perhaps the most significant Gen Alpha meme to date (sorry, [Skibidi Toilet](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/best-memes-2023-1234918358\/angela-basset-did-the-thing-1234919955\/)), shouts of “[six seven](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/six-seven-meme-explained-skrilla-rap-1235463481\/)” became all but inescapable in middle school classrooms across the country this fall. It initially took off among basketball fans — the phrase first appeared in Skrilla’s song [“Doot Doot (6 7)”](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XnygT6ANLzQ), which then became the soundtrack to a ton of TikTok edits of NBA stars, particularly six-foot-seven [LaMelo Ball](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ballisticeditz06\/video\/7475643830566391071).\n\nSo, what does it mean? Well, basically nothing. After reaching ubiquity on TikTok, the phrase just became a thing kids couldn’t stop saying, a mass inside joke only made funnier by the fact that teachers and parents didn’t get it. That is, until [Halloween](https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/article\/most-popular-halloween-costume-2025-six-seven.html), when many of these lame grownups dressed up as “six seven,” thus immediately making it cringe and freeing us all.\n\nPhoto : Stephanie Saias\\*\n\nIn October, while promoting her new song, Australian singer-songwriter Sophia James posted seven different TikToks as a “little science experiment to see what video gets the most reach.” In the [seventh video](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@sophiajamesmusic\/video\/7562061800192183583), she told her audience as much. “If you are watching this video, you are in Group 7,” she said. For whatever elusive reason the TikTok algorithm decreed, that’s the one that went viral. Soon, people all over TikTok were making TikToks [proclaiming](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@daydreamwithjas\/video\/7564033536076877074) their [Group 7](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@cassiesbooktok\/video\/7563753170715823371) [pride](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@catrionathomas\/video\/7564001226623421718). The children long for school spirit week.\n\n- [Culture](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/)\n- [(Sub)Culture Lists](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-lists\/)\n### More News","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	Skip to main content The 25 Best Memes of 2025 Photo illustration by Matthew Cooley As we say our goodbyes to 2025, we must bid adieu to the memes that came with it. It was a surreal year on the internet — many of this year’s memes leaned heavily into the brain rot that’s come with the rise of AI and over-consumerism, though others sprang out of good old-fashioned candid camera moments. Trump was back in office, Katy Perry was in space, and kids everywhere were screaming “six seven” for some reason, before adults co-opted it and made it cringe. Presented to you in roughly the order they came into our lives, let’s take a walk through the memes that defined 2025 — for better and for worse. Photographs in illustration Emma McIntyre/Getty Images; Blue Origin/Cover Images/AP; Johannes Simon/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images Photo : Getty Images Perhaps the greatest bit of slang to come out of Stan Twitter this year was “reheating nachos,” a phrase usually wielded against pop stars to accuse them of lacking originality. Basically, if you’re reheating someone’s nachos, you’re copying them or piggybacking off their creativity. Though the phrase originated on the reality show Baddies West in 2023, per KnowYourMeme , it caught fire this year (reheated, really) as a meme. Doja Cat was accused of reheating Sabrina Carpenter’s nachos (and vice versa), while Lady Gaga was charged with reheating Madonna’s nachos, and Tate McCrae with Britney Spears’. Beyoncé, however, faced no nacho allegations — “She is the tortilla industry,” as one person put it . Photo : Gregory Shamus/Getty Images What a halftime show we had this year. It’s not every Super Bowl you get to see the greatest rap beef in years get aired out live for all the world to watch. Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us” was one of the most talked-about halftime moments in ages — particularly after Lamar turned directly to face the camera when he name-checked Drake, flashing a giant, mischievous grin . The performance — which came one week after “Not Like Us” swept at the Grammys — was the knockout punch in the rappers’ feud, and the image of Lamar beaming ear-to-ear set off a ton of memes . Close your eyes for a moment. Picture our sitting vice president. What does he look like? Are you sure? In March, following Trump’s tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, photoshopped images of J.D. Vance had a huge moment online, with the fine artists of the internet coming up with increasingly ridiculous edits of him. Many of them showed him as a chubby-cheeked toddler , often pictured with a lollipop and propeller hat. Others got more creative with it. “I have completely forgotten what the real J.D. Vance looks like at this point,” one person quipped on X, sharing an edit of Vance with a neckbeard, one of the most enduring images of the meme era. Though the meme took off this year, its origins stem back to October 2024, when Rep. Mike Collins posted a rather yassified looking photo of the VP. Photo : Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Unfortunately, Trump is funny sometimes. One of these times was back in March, when Trump checked out a Tesla in front of the White House. Intrigued by the vehicle’s digital touchscreen, he uttered one of the most perfect sentences about modern technology in recent memory: “Everything’s computer!” Literally so true. It was an instant hall-of-famer Trumpism , joining the likes of “many such cases” and “Thank you Kanye, very cool!” Photo : Samir Hussein/Getty Images Economic anxiety was so back in 2025. With it came a refrain: “That’s a recession indicator.” Almost anything you can think of was probably dubbed a recession indicator this year: Addison Rae’s music career , the return of flash mobs , people wearing business casual to the club , among others. Everywhere you looked, there were signs the economy was sliding into collapse. Though a recession hasn’t officially hit the U.S., it still sounds like it could be coming , so keep storing up those recessioncore memes for 2026. Photo : 305pics/GCImages Grind culture found a new patron saint in March with fitness influencer Ashton Hall’s morning routine . The video is a truly rich text — Hall wakes up at 3:52 a.m., does a bunch of pushups, eats a banana and then rubs the peel on his face, journals for exactly three minutes, and dunks his head in a big bowl of Saratoga bottled water not once but twice , all before 9:30 a.m. At one point, he dives off a diving board, and according to the video’s timestamps, is suspended in midair for four minutes. The video is so ridiculous it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s real, parody, engagement bait, undisclosed sponcon for Saratoga, or some mysterious combination thereof. Whatever it was, the memes practically wrote themselves. Photo : Will Heath/NBC/Getty Images At the end of Morgan Wallen’s first Saturday Night Live gig in March, he abruptly bounced , walking offstage midcredits as the rest of the cast (and host Mikey Madison) clapped and hugged it out as they typically do. It was a surprising exit — even more so when, shortly afterwards, he made it clear on his Instagram Story just how happy he was to take his leave. “Get me to God’s country,” he wrote over a photo of his private plane. The phrase became a meme pretty much immediately, a sort of desperate request to abscond to one’s personal slice of paradise, be it the Rainforest Cafe , Neopia , or the Myrtle-Broadway subway stop in Brooklyn. Photo : Cover Images/AP In April, a star-studded, all-women crew — which included Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, and Katy Perry — exited the Earth’s atmosphere for about 10 minutes on a rocket operated by Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin. It was already a not-so-great time to be Perry — everyone was dunking on her latest album, a 2010s throwback no one asked for — and the billionaire-funded space trip just felt like further confirmation she’d lost the plot. Not helping matters: her saying things like “space is going to finally be glam” and “we are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut,” singing “What a Wonderful World” at zero gravity, and kissing the ground when she landed. Obviously, it was massively roasted and sparked some out-of-this-world jokes and memes . What a wonderful world, indeed. A new cast of AI-generated creatures with vaguely Italian-sounding names started taking over everyone’s TikTok For You pages in early 2025. First there was Tralalero Tralala , a sneaker-wearing shark. Then emerged Chimpanzini Bananini (a chimp-banana hybrid), Ballerina Cappuccina (a ballet-dancing cup of cappuccino), and Bombardiro Crocodilo (a combination crocodile and bomber plane), just to name a few. Not all of them were Italian — Tung Tung Tung Sahur , a wood log with a baseball bat, was Indonesian. The number of characters that emerged from the trend is unclear, though one popular video counts at least 100 . If you’re confused, don’t overthink it too much — like so many contenders this year, this is another one of those weird brain-rotty memes that transcends explanation and just sort of is . Ballerina Cappuccina, mi mi mi mi! Photo : Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Getty Images As AI chatbot use surged in 2025, the website formerly known as Twitter introduced one of its own: Grok. It quickly became common for users to reply to a tweet and tag Grok, summoning the bot to explain it, often asking, “Grok, is this true?” The phrase soon became a meme , with people using it to mock growing over-reliance on AI. People did find some solid uses for Grok — namely, using it to roast its creator , Elon Musk. Unfortunately, the chatbot did have one major downside, which was that it really liked Hitler. Photo : GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP/Getty Images Who would win in a fight: 100 men or one gorilla? That was the question on everyone’s minds in April. It wasn’t the first time the topic had set off discourse online, but this time, it seriously took off, going viral thanks to a few posts on TikTok and X . A lot of people joined in on the debate , or at least got in some solid jokes . So, what’s the answer? A few primatologists weighed in with their thoughts. Wildlife photographer and conservationist Ron Magill told Rolling Stone he thinks 100 men could defeat the gorilla if they “are committed and go in united,” but it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory. “It could be a kamikaze mission for the men closest to the gorilla,” he said. Photo : Vatican Media/Vatican Pool/Corbis/Getty Images In May, shortly after the death of Pope Francis, 133 cardinals gathered in the Vatican to select the next pope. Though this is a process that dates back almost 1,000 years, this was the first one since the movie Conclave came out in 2024. As such, everyone suddenly knew how conclaves worked and proved it with the most blessed memes . People were stanning their favorite cardinals , reading all the latest conclave news on Pope Crave , and even posted about the seagulls on the roof of the Sistine Chapel to pass the time while they awaited white smoke. Photo : Theo Wargo/FilmMagic Way back in September 2014, Zendaya wore an enormous Armani hat to the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party. The hat was very big, and the photos were very funny. Flash forward to this May, and the image resurfaced on TikTok, where user @thesnakesbloxx paired a bunch of low-res clips of the photo with some eerie-sounding audio from Ethel Cain’s Perverts. As that TikTok went viral, so did the “Zendaya hat theory” meme — particularly after Zendaya wore another big hat to the Met Gala just as the meme was gaining traction. So, what is the theory? Well, it doesn’t actually exist — the concept was basically just a parody of online conspiracy theories, with a people vaguely suggesting something was hiding under the hat or that it had some cryptic deeper meaning. As far as we could tell, the only thing the hat was covering up was her head. Photo : Getty Images A sort of “don’t talk to me or my son ever again” for the modern age, photos of baby animals “with mama” took over in a huge way throughout 2025. After the first instance — an image of the solar system with the caption “let’s orbit around mama” — went viral on Tumblr , adorable memes soon started popping up on Instagram and had major staying power for months to come. Photo : Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images It was the breakup of the year. In June, Elon Musk — who up until this point had been besties with the president — came out against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. Obviously, Trump didn’t take it too well, and the two began publicly feuding on social media, their once close relationship flaming out in spectacular fashion. Who could’ve guessed that two of the biggest egos in federal government would eventually butt heads? Naturally, the very online (including one of Musk’s many baby mamas ) rose to the occasion with some truly excellent posts . Photo : DUTCH/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images It was quite a year for Justin Bieber — one during which he found himself especially hounded by the celebrity gossip machine. By June, it seems like he’d finally had enough, and he confronted paparazzi outside the Soho House in Malibu. “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” he told the photographers. The video circulated widely, and people clowned on him pretty hard for the sorta cringey and not exactly correct use of AAVE slang . But “standing on business” became a pretty much inescapable part of the meme lexicon after that. Photo : Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto/Getty Images One of the most ubiquitous TikTok audios of the year came courtesy of a U.K. tour operator’s commercial from 2024, showing a family frolicking on vacation. “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday!” a very peppy British woman says in the ad, as Jess Glynne’s 2015 song “Hold My Hand” plays in the background. Soon, people were using the audio over videos of vacation – related mishaps . By the middle of the summer, it was unavoidable. Thanks to the trend, “Hold My Hand” was one of TikTok’s top songs of the year. Photo : Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto/Getty Images Everywhere you look online, there’s another microtrend being shoveled through the algorithm. In 2025, that creeping ennui of overconsumerist slop crystallized into a meme : “Labubu matcha Dubai chocolate,” a sort of word salad summing up the year’s most inescapable fads — a Nordic-inspired toy, Japanese drink, and pistachio-filled candy bar, respectively. At times, other words and phrases made it into the memes, particularly Stanley cups , Benson Boone , Love Island , and Crumbl cookies . Photo : Zamrznuti tonovi/Adobe Stock Are you a guy who carries feminist lit around in your tote bag ? Do you listen to Clairo in your wired earbuds while sipping an oat milk matcha latte ? Congratulations, you might just be a performative male. Though many terms have been floated in the past for dudes who fake emotional sensitivity and feminist ideals to get into their Hinge date’s pants — “softboy” and “male manipulator,” in particular — “performative male” took off in a big way in 2025. By the summer, “ performative male contests ” began popping up across the country, with men competing to be crowned the pick-me guy final boss. One could argue that ironically competing in such a contest is perhaps the greatest “performative male” indicator of them all, but that’s a discussion for another day. Photo : Ethan Miller/Getty Images At a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts in July, the kiss-cam panned to one unsuspecting couple. A split second after popping up on the Jumbotron, the man and woman — who had been wrapped up in each others’ arms, looking very much in love — suddenly broke apart. The woman turned around, back to the camera, while the man ducked down to the ground. “Oh, look at these two,” Chris Martin said. “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” The public latched onto the idea that it was the former after the two were quickly identified as Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, the CEO and head of HR, respectively, of the tech company Astronomer, both of whom were married to other people. Sources have since claimed there wasn’t an affair at all — this was just a show of their “excellent working relationship,” and the divorce that came after was in the works before the incident. But at the time it was a rare bit of monoculture, sparking a ton of jokes (even from the pair’s former company ) as everyone gobbled up the undeniably juicy scandal of a CEO and HR exec seemingly caught in a very unprofessional act. As one person wrote on X, “Shoutout to Coldplay for bringing the whole internet together for one day.” Photo : Getty Images If you’ve ever spoken to a teen or twentysomething and been met with a blank stare and silence, you’ve probably experienced the so-called “Gen Z stare.” The term refers to the dead-eyed look zoomers supposedly give older people when asked a question, often in classrooms or customer service settings (or when you’re Sydney Sweeney being asked about your jeans ad). The concept of a “Gen Z stare” started gaining traction on TikTok in July, though members of the generation were quick to deny its existence, with many defending it as a valid reaction to dealing with stupid people. “Your question was so idiotic it reset my brain,” one TikToker wrote . Photo : Emily Curiel/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service/Getty Images In case you hadn’t heard, it was a pretty big year for Taylor Swift. Between buying back her masters and bringing an entire new audience to the NFL, she somehow found time to roll out a whole new album. After she announced The Life of a Showgirl on the Kelce brothers’ podcast in August, it basically took over the zeitgeist, filling everyone’s feeds with memes of other sparkly , feather-boa–wearing icons. That’s showbiz , babe. Photo : Getty Images The Rapture has been incorrectly predicted more than a few times throughout history, but never has it happened in such an online way. In September, a handful of Evangelical Christians thought the world was going to end, and it became a whole thing on TikTok. The prophecy came by way of South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela , who in a sermon posted to YouTube , claimed Jesus Christ had personally told him the Rapture would take place on Sept. 23 or 24. Well, apparently either Jesus or Joshua was wrong, but everyone had a lot of fun anyway. Photo : CHRIS DELMAS/AFP/Getty Images Some memes have a fascinating, deep inner meaning. This one does not. Perhaps the most significant Gen Alpha meme to date (sorry, Skibidi Toilet ), shouts of “ six seven ” became all but inescapable in middle school classrooms across the country this fall. It initially took off among basketball fans — the phrase first appeared in Skrilla’s song “Doot Doot (6 7)” , which then became the soundtrack to a ton of TikTok edits of NBA stars, particularly six-foot-seven LaMelo Ball . So, what does it mean? Well, basically nothing. After reaching ubiquity on TikTok, the phrase just became a thing kids couldn’t stop saying, a mass inside joke only made funnier by the fact that teachers and parents didn’t get it. That is, until Halloween , when many of these lame grownups dressed up as “six seven,” thus immediately making it cringe and freeing us all. Photo : Stephanie Saias* In October, while promoting her new song, Australian singer-songwriter Sophia James posted seven different TikToks as a “little science experiment to see what video gets the most reach.” In the seventh video , she told her audience as much. “If you are watching this video, you are in Group 7,” she said. For whatever elusive reason the TikTok algorithm decreed, that’s the one that went viral. Soon, people all over TikTok were making TikToks proclaiming their Group 7 pride . The children long for school spirit week. Culture (Sub)Culture Lists More News
Markdown	× ![an image, when javascript is unavailable](https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6035310&c4=&cv=3.9&cj=1) [×](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/) [Skip to main content](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/#pagetop) [Rollingstone Logo](https://www.rollingstone.com/) Click to expand the Mega Menu Click to Expand Search Input - [Music](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/) - [Politics](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/) - [TV & Movies](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/) - [Culture](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/) - [VIBE](https://vibe.com/) [Got A Tip?](https://www.rollingstone.com/tips/) [Account](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/) [Welcome](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/) [Manage Account](https://www.rollingstone.com/my-account/) [Manage Print Account](https://www.rollingstone.com/manage-print-account/) [Sign Out](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/) Log In Click to expand the Mega Menu Click to Expand Search Input [Rollingstone Logo](https://www.rollingstone.com/) ### [1 - 3](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/reheating-nachos-1235467209)[4 - 6](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/everythings-computer-1235467240)[7 - 9](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/get-me-to-gods-country-1235467187)[10 - 12](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/grok-is-this-true-1235467250)[13 - 15](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/zendaya-hat-theory-1235467219)[16 - 18](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/standing-on-business-1235467167)[19 - 21](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/performative-males-1235467174)[22 - 24](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/taylor-swift-61-1235467232)[25 - 25](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/group-7-1235467204) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/&title=The%2025%20Best%20Memes%20of%202025&sdk=joey&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button "Facebook") - [X](https://twitter.com/intent/post?url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/&text=The%2025%20Best%20Memes%20of%202025&via=RollingStone "X") - [google-preferred](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com "google-preferred") - [email](mailto:?subject=RollingStone%20:%20The%2025%20Best%20Memes%20of%202025&body=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/%20-%20The%2025%20Best%20Memes%20of%202025 "email") [Got A Tip?](https://www.rollingstone.com/tips/) [Account](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/) [Welcome](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/) [Manage Account](https://www.rollingstone.com/my-account/) [Manage Print Account](https://www.rollingstone.com/manage-print-account/) [Sign Out](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/) Log In [Year in Culture](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/best-of-2025/) # The 25 Best Memes of 2025 Brain rot took center stage in the year's internet discourse. AI was a close second By [Julia Reinstein](https://www.rollingstone.com/author/julia-reinstein/) ### [Julia Reinstein](https://www.rollingstone.com/author/julia-reinstein/) - [8 Biggest Revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein Docs](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/jeffrey-epstein-documents-release-revelations-1234939902/) - [Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew Named in New Jeffrey Epstein Documents](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/jeffrey-epstein-court-files-unsealed-1234939060/) [View all posts by Julia Reinstein](https://www.rollingstone.com/author/julia-reinstein/) December 10, 2025 ![The 25 Best Memes of 2025](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Best-Meme.jpg?w=1581&h=1054&crop=1) Photo illustration by Matthew Cooley As we say our goodbyes to 2025, we must bid adieu to the memes that came with it. It was a surreal year on the internet — many of this year’s memes leaned heavily into the brain rot that’s come with the rise of AI and over-consumerism, though others sprang out of good old-fashioned candid camera moments. Trump was back in office, Katy Perry was in space, and kids everywhere were screaming “six seven” for some reason, before adults co-opted it and made it cringe. Presented to you in roughly the order they came into our lives, let’s take a walk through the memes that defined 2025 — for better and for worse. Photographs in illustration Emma McIntyre/Getty Images; Blue Origin/Cover Images/AP; Johannes Simon/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images ## Reheating Nachos ![nachos and cheese in tray with beer shot close up](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-reheat-nachos.jpg?w=800) Photo : Getty Images Perhaps the greatest bit of slang to come out of Stan Twitter this year was “reheating nachos,” a phrase usually wielded against pop stars to accuse them of lacking originality. Basically, if you’re reheating someone’s nachos, you’re copying them or piggybacking off their creativity. Though the phrase originated on the reality show Baddies West in 2023, per [KnowYourMeme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/reheating-nachos-reheat-nachos), it caught fire this year (reheated, really) as a meme. Doja Cat was accused of [reheating](https://x.com/dojaspetcat/status/1919388268933878060) Sabrina Carpenter’s nachos (and vice versa), while Lady Gaga was [charged](https://x.com/jovarca1000000/status/1890098231734071309) with reheating Madonna’s nachos, and Tate McCrae [with](https://x.com/asherw01fe/status/1883755341369978949) Britney Spears’. Beyoncé, however, faced no nacho allegations — “She is the tortilla industry,” as one person [put it](https://x.com/roomfmate/status/1886453427754115381). ## Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl ![NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 09: Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-kendrick-lamar-sb-show.jpg?w=800) Photo : Gregory Shamus/Getty Images What a halftime show we had this year. It’s not every Super Bowl you get to see the [greatest rap beef](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/drake-kendrick-lamar-beef-explained-1235015540/) in years get aired out live for all the world to watch. Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us” was one of the most talked-about halftime moments in ages — particularly after Lamar turned directly to face the camera when he name-checked Drake, flashing a giant, [mischievous grin](https://x.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1888765939153281199). The performance — which came one week after “Not Like Us” swept at the Grammys — was the knockout punch in the rappers’ feud, and the image of Lamar beaming ear-to-ear set off a [ton](https://x.com/PallaviGunalan/status/1888765722647568436) [of](https://x.com/sad_oat/status/1888996047428436212) [memes](https://x.com/wishescametrue/status/1888980388250321195). ## Baby-Faced J.D. Vance ![JD Vance Memes](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-fat-JD.jpg?w=800) Close your eyes for a moment. Picture our sitting vice president. What does he look like? Are you sure? In March, following Trump’s tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, photoshopped images of J.D. Vance had a [huge moment](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/jd-vance-meme-immigration-1235371114/) online, with the fine artists of the internet coming up with increasingly ridiculous edits of him. Many of them showed him as a chubby-cheeked [toddler](https://x.com/barflugnarven/status/1895590112828010945), often pictured with a [lollipop](https://x.com/mercar4ever/status/1895778940280848845) and propeller hat. Others got more creative with it. “I have completely forgotten what the real J.D. Vance looks like at this point,” one person [quipped](https://x.com/SperglerAcolyte/status/1896669568065806727) on X, sharing an edit of Vance with a neckbeard, one of the most enduring images of the meme era. Though the meme took off this year, its origins stem back to October 2024, when Rep. Mike Collins [posted](https://x.com/repmikecollins/status/1841462716348678274) a rather yassified looking photo of the VP. ## ‘Everything’s Computer’ ![WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: U.S. President Donald Trump and White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sit in a Tesla Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump spoke out against calls for a boycott of Elon Musk’s companies and said he would purchase a Tesla vehicle in what he calls a ‘show of confidence and support’ for Elon Musk. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-everythings-computer-trump.jpg?w=800) Photo : Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Unfortunately, Trump is funny sometimes. One of these times was back in March, when Trump checked out a Tesla in front of the White House. Intrigued by the vehicle’s digital touchscreen, he uttered one of the most [perfect sentences](https://x.com/KylePlantEmoji/status/1899550490729324601) about modern technology in recent memory: “Everything’s computer!” Literally so true. It was an [instant](https://x.com/IterIntellectus/status/1899790164429263258) [hall-of-famer](https://x.com/name_redacted_/status/1899854809005781243) [Trumpism](https://x.com/afrocosmist/status/1899823946771349873), joining the likes of “many such cases” and “Thank you Kanye, very cool!” ## Recession Indicators ![LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Lady Gaga performs on stage at The O2 Arena on September 29, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images for Live Nation)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-recession-indicator-gaga.jpg?w=800) Photo : Samir Hussein/Getty Images Economic anxiety was so back in 2025. With it came a refrain: “That’s a recession indicator.” Almost anything you can think of was probably dubbed a recession indicator this year: [Addison Rae’s music career](https://www.thecut.com/article/addison-rae-made-another-recession-core-music-video.html), the return of [flash mobs](https://x.com/stillnotziora/status/1908984307869233562), people wearing [business casual to the club](https://www.tiktok.com/@ladymisskay_/video/7240984783189314859), among others. Everywhere you looked, there were signs the economy was sliding into collapse. Though a recession hasn’t officially hit the U.S., it still sounds like it [could be coming](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-official-warns-us-recession-070000291.html), so keep storing up those recessioncore memes for 2026. ## Ashton Hall’s Morning Routine ![MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 18: Ashton Hall is seen on April 18, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by 305pics/GCImages)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-ashton-hall.jpg?w=800) Photo : 305pics/GCImages Grind culture found a new patron saint in March with fitness influencer [Ashton Hall’s morning routine](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/l8N99V0BWfk). The video is a truly rich text — Hall wakes up at 3:52 a.m., does a bunch of pushups, eats a banana and then rubs the peel on his face, [journals](https://x.com/TheTumboy/status/1903076182771236907) for exactly three minutes, and dunks his head in a big bowl of Saratoga bottled water not once but [twice](https://x.com/redvivisection/status/1903138570262679833), all before 9:30 a.m. At one point, he dives off a diving board, and according to the video’s timestamps, is [suspended in midair](https://x.com/AlpelDokkan/status/1903220925635448967) for four minutes. The video is so ridiculous it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s real, parody, engagement bait, undisclosed sponcon for Saratoga, or some mysterious combination thereof. Whatever it was, the [memes](https://x.com/Wahyoenam/status/1903702158752850272) [practically](https://x.com/wholelottatr3y/status/1903485818502529041) [wrote](https://x.com/computer_gay/status/1903478023371837469) themselves. ## ‘Get Me to God’s Country’ ![SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- Episode 1879 -- Pictured: (l-r) Musical guest Morgan Wallen and host Mikey Madison during Goodnights \& Credits on Saturday, March 29, 2025 -- (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-morgan-wallen-gods-country.jpg?w=800) Photo : Will Heath/NBC/Getty Images At the end of Morgan Wallen’s first Saturday Night Live gig in March, he abruptly [bounced](https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1906220126245880009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1906220126245880009%7Ctwgr%5E7a21d15e71fe88793d1aa79658b1c2ef6716d978%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Few.com%2Fembed%3Furl%3Dhttps3A2F2Fx.com2Fnbcsnl2Fstatus2F1906220126245880009id%3Dmntl-sc-block_6-0-iframeoptions%3De303DdocId%3D11708674), walking offstage midcredits as the rest of the cast (and host Mikey Madison) clapped and hugged it out as they typically do. It was a surprising exit — even more so when, shortly afterwards, he made it clear on his [Instagram Story](https://x.com/thesnlnetwork/status/1906236386052542857) just how happy he was to take his leave. “Get me to God’s country,” he wrote over a photo of his private plane. The phrase became a meme pretty much immediately, a sort of desperate request to abscond to one’s personal slice of paradise, be it the [Rainforest Cafe](https://x.com/megannn_lynne/status/1906765394959835567), [Neopia](https://x.com/tkylemac/status/1906547147299783076), or the [Myrtle-Broadway subway stop](https://x.com/nycgov/status/1906796841049432187) in Brooklyn. ## Katy Perry in Space ![Katy Perry Comes Back To Earth After Singing On Space Trip \\ STORY AVAILABLE, CONTACT SUPPLIER\\ Where: West Texas, Texas, United States When: 14 Apr 2025 Credit: Blue Origin/Cover Images \\EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED SUPPLIER.\\ (Cover Images via AP Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-katy-perry-space.jpg?w=800) Photo : Cover Images/AP In April, a star-studded, all-women crew — which included Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, and Katy Perry — exited the Earth’s atmosphere for about 10 minutes on a rocket operated by Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin. It was already a not-so-great time to be Perry — everyone was dunking on her latest album, a [2010s throwback](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/katy-perry-143-review-1235108317/) no one asked for — and the billionaire-funded space trip just felt like further confirmation she’d lost the plot. Not helping matters: her [saying things](https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a64341516/blue-origin-female-flight-crew-space-interview-2025/) like “space is going to finally be glam” and “we are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut,” singing [“What a Wonderful World”](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/katy-perry-sings-what-a-wonderful-world-historic-all-women-blue-origin-spaceflight/) at zero gravity, and [kissing the ground](https://x.com/Wendys/status/1911933396550287524) when she landed. Obviously, it was massively roasted and sparked some [out-of-this-world](https://x.com/litcapital/status/1911808447923868111) [jokes](https://x.com/PanasonicDX4500/status/1911785153879326753) and [memes](https://x.com/Tom_Smyth_/status/1911784370295161315). What a wonderful world, indeed. ## Italian Brain Rot ![Italian Brain Rot AI Tralalelo tralala](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-italian-brainrot.jpg?w=800) Tralalelo tralala A new cast of AI-generated creatures with vaguely Italian-sounding names started taking over everyone’s TikTok For You pages in early 2025. First there was [Tralalero Tralala](https://www.tiktok.com/@urielgramx/video/7493267149444762935), a sneaker-wearing shark. Then emerged [Chimpanzini Bananini](http://ww.tiktok.com/@alexey_pigeon/video/7481225648258731286) (a chimp-banana hybrid), [Ballerina Cappuccina](https://www.tiktok.com/@aironicfun/video/7483426614135491862) (a ballet-dancing cup of cappuccino), and [Bombardiro Crocodilo](https://www.tiktok.com/@fishy.ai/video/7479115355433061654) (a combination crocodile and bomber plane), just to name a few. Not all of them were Italian — [Tung Tung Tung Sahur](https://www.tiktok.com/@ch0c0p1ez/video/7500435704938237202), a wood log with a baseball bat, was Indonesian. The number of characters that emerged from the trend is unclear, though one popular video counts [at least 100](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp-59oQng24). If you’re confused, don’t overthink it too much — like so many contenders this year, this is another one of those weird brain-rotty memes that transcends explanation and just sort of is. Ballerina Cappuccina, mi mi mi mi\! ## ‘Grok, Is This True?’ ![The Grok X AI app is used on a mobile phone with the Grok logo visible in the background in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on March 8, 2025. (Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-grok.jpg?w=800) Photo : Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Getty Images As AI chatbot use surged in 2025, the website formerly known as Twitter introduced one of its own: Grok. It quickly became common for users to reply to a tweet and tag Grok, summoning the bot to explain it, often asking, “Grok, is this true?” The phrase soon [became](https://x.com/CurtisRemarc/status/1949864005348000214) a [meme](https://x.com/jzux/status/1926346591696261209), with people using it to [mock](https://x.com/chefmade_92/status/1945083402224336971) growing [over-reliance](https://x.com/ShuraLynx/status/1915490802173649174) on AI. People did find some solid uses for Grok — namely, using it to [roast](https://x.com/stevanzetti/status/1991648172050149513?s=12) its [creator](https://x.com/mikeisaac/status/1991610138445377810?s=12), Elon Musk. Unfortunately, the chatbot did have one major downside, which was that it [really liked](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/elon-musk-grok-chatbot-antisemitic-posts-1235381165/) Hitler. ## 100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla ![A male Silverback Gorilla named Asato looks on in his enclosure, at Beauval Zoo, in Saint-Aignan, central France, on August 25, 2025. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP) (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP via Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-100-men-vs-gorilla.jpg?w=800) Photo : GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP/Getty Images Who would win in a fight: 100 men or one gorilla? That was the question on everyone’s minds in April. It wasn’t the first time the topic had [set off](https://www.tiktok.com/@yuri5kpt2/video/7067705291957079342) [discourse](https://www.tiktok.com/@tredouglass/video/7465035002112199966) online, but this time, it seriously took off, going viral thanks to a few posts on [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@rationalsniper/video/7495102104634248479) and [X](https://x.com/DreamChasnMike/status/1915639645204877538). A lot of people joined in on the [debate](https://x.com/iceman4_/status/1916135631920791675), or at least got in [some](https://x.com/BeSmoove7/status/1916522360754053295) [solid](https://x.com/gracecamille_/status/1916656045990056175) [jokes](https://x.com/DijahSB/status/1916855200129724627). So, what’s the answer? A few primatologists weighed in with their thoughts. Wildlife photographer and conservationist Ron Magill told [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/100-men-gorilla-debate-who-would-win-1235327636/) he thinks 100 men could defeat the gorilla if they “are committed and go in united,” but it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory. “It could be a kamikaze mission for the men closest to the gorilla,” he said. ## ‘Conclave’ Comes to Life ![VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MAY 07: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING) Cardinals attends the opening of the Conclave in the sistine Chapel on May 07, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinals of the Catholic Church have descended on Vatican City to commence the papal conclave, the secretive voting process held in the Sistine Chapel that requires a two-thirds majority to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church. The election follows the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. (Photo by Vatican Media/Vatican Pool - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-conclave.jpg?w=800) Photo : Vatican Media/Vatican Pool/Corbis/Getty Images In May, shortly after the death of Pope Francis, 133 cardinals gathered in the Vatican to select the next pope. Though this is a process that dates back almost 1,000 years, this was the first one since the movie Conclave came out in 2024. As such, everyone [suddenly knew](https://x.com/Leonsjogren/status/1914229676056494352) how conclaves worked and [proved](https://x.com/willfulchaos/status/1914293384535015919) it with the [most](https://x.com/renegadeapostle/status/1914229741042938242) [blessed](https://twitter.com/saintdutchess/status/1920516261294796918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1920516261294796918%7Ctwgr%5E9ef7cb7eeea3dbb1c8a75bcbb27405167595ece1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecut.com%2Farticle%2Fall-the-best-reactions-to-the-new-pope.html) [memes](https://x.com/shecononmyclave/status/1920108309832450493). People were [stanning](https://x.com/ghoulhag/status/1920137618299179100) [their](https://x.com/every_uno717/status/1920259671178559491) [favorite](https://x.com/tiramiiiiiiisu/status/1914622491709890769) [cardinals](https://x.com/gldivittorio/status/1920175264849449335), reading all the latest conclave news on [Pope Crave](https://x.com/ClubConcrave/status/1920132790059782191), and even posted about the [seagulls](https://x.com/TheHappyPriest/status/1920158180421570969) on the [roof](https://x.com/RESP3CT4N/status/1920164134164812208) of the Sistine Chapel to pass the time while they awaited white smoke. ## Zendaya Hat Theory ![NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 05: Zendaya attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/FilmMagic)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-zendaya-hat-theory.jpg?w=800) Photo : Theo Wargo/FilmMagic Way back in September 2014, Zendaya wore an enormous Armani hat to the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party. The hat was very big, and the photos were very funny. Flash forward to this May, and the image resurfaced on TikTok, where user [@thesnakesbloxx](https://www.tiktok.com/@thesnakesbloxx/video/7499483469060312322) paired a bunch of low-res clips of the photo with some eerie-sounding audio from Ethel Cain’s Perverts. As that TikTok went viral, so did the “Zendaya hat theory” meme — particularly after Zendaya wore another big hat to the Met Gala just as the meme was gaining traction. So, what is the theory? Well, it doesn’t actually exist — the concept was basically just a parody of online conspiracy theories, with a people vaguely suggesting something was hiding under the hat or that it had some cryptic deeper meaning. As far as we could tell, the only thing the hat was covering up was her head. ## With Mama ![with mama](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-with-mama.jpg?w=800) Photo : Getty Images A sort of “don’t talk to [me or my son](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/i-will-re-meme-ber-you) ever again” for the modern age, photos of baby animals “with mama” took over in a huge way throughout 2025. After the first instance — an image of the [solar system](https://A%20sort%20of%20“don’t%20talk%20to%20me%20or%20my%20son%20ever%20again”%20for%20the%20modern%20age,%20photos%20of%20baby%20animals%20“with%20mama”%20took%20over%20in%20a%20huge%20way%20throughout%202025.%20The%20first%20instance%20—%20thought%20to%20be%20this%20solar%20system%20one%20—%20first%20went%20viral%20on%20Tumblr,%20but%20similarly%20adorable%20memes%20soon%20started%20popping%20up%20on%20Instagram%20and%20had%20major%20staying%20power%20for%20months%20to%20come.) with the caption “let’s orbit around mama” — went viral on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/letsblogwithmama), adorable memes soon started popping up on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DJHgZ-vSlgW) and had major staying power for months to come. ## Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Breakup ![WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave his role in the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-trump-musk-breakup.jpg?w=800) Photo : Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images It was the breakup of the year. In June, Elon Musk — who up until this point had been besties with the president — came out against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. Obviously, Trump didn’t take it too well, and the two began [publicly feuding](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/donald-trump-elon-musk-break-up-1235356751/) on social media, their once close relationship flaming out in spectacular fashion. Who could’ve guessed that two of the biggest egos in federal government would eventually butt heads? Naturally, the very online (including one of Musk’s many [baby mamas](https://x.com/stclairashley/status/1930691134138855638)) rose to the occasion with some [truly](https://x.com/jzux/status/1930721473544470779) [excellent](https://x.com/herosnvrdie69/status/1930709839086338482) [posts](https://x.com/Fred_Delicious/status/1930718491843121446). ## Standing on Business Photo : DUTCH/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images It was quite a year for Justin Bieber — one during which he found himself especially hounded by the celebrity gossip machine. By June, it seems like he’d finally had enough, and he confronted paparazzi outside the Soho House in Malibu. “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” he told the photographers. The [video](https://x.com/onlinegirlie/status/1933961954827387008) circulated widely, and people clowned on him pretty hard for the sorta cringey and not exactly correct use of [AAVE slang](https://www.complex.com/music/a/jaelaniturnerwilliams/justin-bieber-becomes-viral-meme-for-misusing-aave). But “standing on business” became a pretty much inescapable [part](https://x.com/MFPWBILJONAS/status/1939107244119072904) of the [meme](https://x.com/shutyourhell/status/1936992278855446853) [lexicon](https://x.com/elioandoliverse/status/1936847585349619987) after that. ## Nothing Beats a Jet2 Holiday Photo : Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto/Getty Images One of the most ubiquitous TikTok audios of the year came courtesy of a U.K. tour operator’s [commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQZEoZ4W0ac) from 2024, showing a family frolicking on vacation. “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday!” a very peppy British woman says in the ad, as Jess Glynne’s 2015 song “Hold My Hand” plays in the background. Soon, people were using the audio over videos of [vacation](https://www.tiktok.com/@nenepet99/video/7518009850849447175)–[related](https://www.tiktok.com/@wsggyumii/video/7525805421437734162) [mishaps](https://www.tiktok.com/@tishiraatkins/video/7568945229059935502). By the middle of the summer, it was [unavoidable.](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/jet2-holiday-summer-meme-1235390750/) Thanks to the trend, “Hold My Hand” was one of [TikTok’s top songs](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tiktok-connie-francis-2025-top-global-song-1235480832/) of the year. ## Labubu Matcha Dubai Chocolate Photo : Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto/Getty Images Everywhere you look online, there’s another microtrend being shoveled through the algorithm. In 2025, that creeping ennui of overconsumerist slop [crystallized](https://x.com/gomenstruation/status/1913043120973054388) [into](https://x.com/muggsyOh/status/1942626337254178890) a [meme](https://www.tiktok.com/@canyoufindmeahouse/video/7541278696393493815): “Labubu matcha Dubai chocolate,” a sort of word salad summing up the year’s most inescapable fads — a Nordic-inspired toy, Japanese drink, and pistachio-filled candy bar, respectively. At times, other words and phrases made it into the memes, particularly [Stanley cups](https://www.tiktok.com/@alexrein333/video/7523675980968267063), [Benson Boone](https://www.tiktok.com/@goonmanpercy/video/7533060292847193375), [Love Island](https://x.com/byzantinecopt/status/1943730587317285042), and [Crumbl cookies](https://x.com/OhioWhomp/status/1940894758609780985). ## Performative Males Photo : Zamrznuti tonovi/Adobe Stock Are you a guy who carries [feminist lit](https://www.tiktok.com/@eionfalance/video/7551089450084879629) around in your [tote bag](https://www.tiktok.com/@yungjackinnanen/video/7541520045025856776)? Do you listen to Clairo in your [wired earbuds](https://www.tiktok.com/@stc.1019/photo/7536621891411463430) while sipping an [oat milk matcha latte](https://www.tiktok.com/@sspencerevans/video/7531566121787378974)? Congratulations, you might just be a performative male. Though many terms have been floated in the past for dudes who fake emotional sensitivity and feminist ideals to get into their Hinge date’s pants — “softboy” and “male manipulator,” in particular — “performative male” took off in a big way in 2025. By the summer, “[performative](https://www.tiktok.com/@masha_holman/video/7536634538928213303) [male](https://www.tiktok.com/@rebabeba/video/7543489622144273678) [contests](https://www.tiktok.com/@namyarfx/video/7529309779366300983)” began popping up across the country, with men competing to be crowned the pick-me guy final boss. One could argue that ironically competing in such a contest is perhaps the greatest “performative male” indicator of them all, but that’s a discussion for another day. ## The Coldplay Couple Photo : Ethan Miller/Getty Images At a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts in July, the kiss-cam panned to one unsuspecting couple. A split second after popping up on the Jumbotron, the man and woman — who had been wrapped up in each others’ arms, looking very much in love — suddenly broke apart. The woman turned around, back to the camera, while the man ducked down to the ground. “Oh, look at these two,” Chris Martin said. “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” The public latched onto the idea that it was the former after the two were quickly identified as Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, the CEO and head of HR, respectively, of the tech company Astronomer, both of whom were married to other people. [Sources](https://people.com/astronomer-ceo-and-employee-caught-coldplay-concert-camera-not-having-affair-source-11811796) have since claimed there wasn’t an affair at all — this was just a show of their “excellent working relationship,” and the [divorce](https://people.com/husband-of-astronomer-wife-in-coldplay-kiss-cam-controversy-speaks-out-11806074) that came after was in the works before the incident. But at the time it was a rare bit of monoculture, [sparking](https://x.com/ericmmatheny/status/1945959762241142823) a [ton](https://x.com/fuqingaverage/status/1945950810342318171) of [jokes](https://x.com/DaveMcNamee3000/status/1945887790220320939) (even from the pair’s former [company](https://x.com/RobertMSterling/status/1948911902014545937)) as everyone gobbled up the undeniably juicy scandal of a CEO and HR exec seemingly caught in a very unprofessional act. As one person [wrote](https://x.com/greg16676935420/status/1946012171491528717) on X, “Shoutout to Coldplay for bringing the whole internet together for one day.” ## Gen Z Stare Photo : Getty Images If you’ve ever spoken to a teen or twentysomething and been met with a blank stare and silence, you’ve probably experienced the so-called “Gen Z stare.” The term refers to the [dead-eyed look](https://www.tiktok.com/@trevonwoodburyy/video/7526263930897878302) zoomers supposedly give older people when asked a question, often in [classrooms](https://www.tiktok.com/@mikayladane13/video/7526572751755185463) or [customer service](https://www.tiktok.com/@yoleendadong/video/7532319748596436280) settings (or when you’re [Sydney Sweeney](https://x.com/PandasAndVidya/status/1986625801593180495) being asked about your jeans ad). The concept of a “Gen Z stare” started gaining traction on TikTok in July, though members of the generation were quick to deny its existence, with many defending it as a valid reaction to dealing with stupid people. “Your question was so idiotic it reset my brain,” one TikToker [wrote](https://www.tiktok.com/@misa._.ann/video/7526039889284975902). ## Taylor Swift Brings the Boas Photo : Emily Curiel/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service/Getty Images In case you hadn’t heard, it was a pretty big year for Taylor Swift. Between buying [back her masters](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-buys-original-album-recordings-1235351164/) and bringing an [entire new audience](https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/taylor-swift-nfl-women-fans-1236542207/) to the NFL, she somehow found time to roll out a whole new album. After she [announced](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-new-album-the-life-of-a-showgirl-1235350951/) The Life of a Showgirl on the Kelce brothers’ podcast in August, it basically took over the zeitgeist, filling everyone’s feeds with memes of other [sparkly](https://x.com/gilmxres/status/1955251645714956735), [feather-boa–wearing](https://x.com/hayleyepiphany/status/1955130323164926403) icons. That’s [showbiz](https://x.com/drewg_t/status/1955394660911944193), babe. ## The Rapture Photo : Getty Images The Rapture has been incorrectly predicted more than a few times throughout history, but never has it happened in such an online way. In September, a handful of Evangelical Christians thought the world was going to end, and it became a [whole](https://www.tiktok.com/@kingdomwealth_christina/video/7550406835736431903) [thing](https://www.tiktok.com/@tilahun.desalegn/video/7540456941437472008) on TikTok. The prophecy came by way of South African pastor [Joshua Mhlakela](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/rapture-tiktok-christianity-bible-1235433294/), who in a sermon posted to [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSfKjB9xkPM), claimed Jesus Christ had personally told him the Rapture would take place on Sept. 23 or 24. Well, apparently either Jesus or Joshua was wrong, but everyone had a [lot](https://x.com/missmilkton/status/1970317753463517358) [of](https://x.com/zoerosebryant/status/1970197569348227230) [fun](https://www.tiktok.com/@itsjennalu/video/7553099914151021838) anyway. ## 6-7 Photo : CHRIS DELMAS/AFP/Getty Images Some memes have a fascinating, deep inner meaning. This one does not. Perhaps the most significant Gen Alpha meme to date (sorry, [Skibidi Toilet](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2023-1234918358/angela-basset-did-the-thing-1234919955/)), shouts of “[six seven](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/six-seven-meme-explained-skrilla-rap-1235463481/)” became all but inescapable in middle school classrooms across the country this fall. It initially took off among basketball fans — the phrase first appeared in Skrilla’s song [“Doot Doot (6 7)”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnygT6ANLzQ), which then became the soundtrack to a ton of TikTok edits of NBA stars, particularly six-foot-seven [LaMelo Ball](https://www.tiktok.com/@ballisticeditz06/video/7475643830566391071). So, what does it mean? Well, basically nothing. After reaching ubiquity on TikTok, the phrase just became a thing kids couldn’t stop saying, a mass inside joke only made funnier by the fact that teachers and parents didn’t get it. That is, until [Halloween](https://www.thecut.com/article/most-popular-halloween-costume-2025-six-seven.html), when many of these lame grownups dressed up as “six seven,” thus immediately making it cringe and freeing us all. ## Group 7 Sophia James, the artist behind the Group 7 meme. Photo : Stephanie Saias\* In October, while promoting her new song, Australian singer-songwriter Sophia James posted seven different TikToks as a “little science experiment to see what video gets the most reach.” In the [seventh video](https://www.tiktok.com/@sophiajamesmusic/video/7562061800192183583), she told her audience as much. “If you are watching this video, you are in Group 7,” she said. For whatever elusive reason the TikTok algorithm decreed, that’s the one that went viral. Soon, people all over TikTok were making TikToks [proclaiming](https://www.tiktok.com/@daydreamwithjas/video/7564033536076877074) their [Group 7](https://www.tiktok.com/@cassiesbooktok/video/7563753170715823371) [pride](https://www.tiktok.com/@catrionathomas/video/7564001226623421718). The children long for school spirit week. #### In this article: - [Best of 2025,](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/best-of-2025/) - [internet culture,](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/internet-culture/) - [memes](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/memes/) - [Culture](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/) - [(Sub)Culture Lists](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/) ### More News - [![British children's author, short-story writer, playwright and versifier Roald Dahl (1916 - 1995), 11th December 1971. (Photo by Ronald Dumont/Daily Express/Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/themes/vip/pmc-rollingstone-2022/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif)](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/secret-world-of-roald-dahl-podcast-controversy-1235549480/) ### [Inside the Twisted Life of Roald Dahl](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/secret-world-of-roald-dahl-podcast-controversy-1235549480/) - Secret History - By [Elisabeth Garber-Paul](https://www.rollingstone.com/author/elisabeth-garber-paul/) - [![INDIO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (NOT TO BE LICENSED FOR ANY STANDALONE OR SPECIAL INTEREST BOOK PUBLISHING USE CONCERNING THE COACHELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL AND/OR STAGECOACH MUSIC FESTIVAL) Festivalgoers attend the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 10, 2026 in Indio, California. 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Readable Markdown	[Skip to main content](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2025-1235467154/#pagetop) ## The 25 Best Memes of 2025 ![The 25 Best Memes of 2025](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Best-Meme.jpg?w=1581&h=1054&crop=1) Photo illustration by Matthew Cooley As we say our goodbyes to 2025, we must bid adieu to the memes that came with it. It was a surreal year on the internet — many of this year’s memes leaned heavily into the brain rot that’s come with the rise of AI and over-consumerism, though others sprang out of good old-fashioned candid camera moments. Trump was back in office, Katy Perry was in space, and kids everywhere were screaming “six seven” for some reason, before adults co-opted it and made it cringe. Presented to you in roughly the order they came into our lives, let’s take a walk through the memes that defined 2025 — for better and for worse. Photographs in illustration Emma McIntyre/Getty Images; Blue Origin/Cover Images/AP; Johannes Simon/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images ![nachos and cheese in tray with beer shot close up](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-reheat-nachos.jpg?w=800) Photo : Getty Images Perhaps the greatest bit of slang to come out of Stan Twitter this year was “reheating nachos,” a phrase usually wielded against pop stars to accuse them of lacking originality. Basically, if you’re reheating someone’s nachos, you’re copying them or piggybacking off their creativity. Though the phrase originated on the reality show Baddies West in 2023, per [KnowYourMeme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/reheating-nachos-reheat-nachos), it caught fire this year (reheated, really) as a meme. Doja Cat was accused of [reheating](https://x.com/dojaspetcat/status/1919388268933878060) Sabrina Carpenter’s nachos (and vice versa), while Lady Gaga was [charged](https://x.com/jovarca1000000/status/1890098231734071309) with reheating Madonna’s nachos, and Tate McCrae [with](https://x.com/asherw01fe/status/1883755341369978949) Britney Spears’. Beyoncé, however, faced no nacho allegations — “She is the tortilla industry,” as one person [put it](https://x.com/roomfmate/status/1886453427754115381). ![NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 09: Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-kendrick-lamar-sb-show.jpg?w=800) Photo : Gregory Shamus/Getty Images What a halftime show we had this year. It’s not every Super Bowl you get to see the [greatest rap beef](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/drake-kendrick-lamar-beef-explained-1235015540/) in years get aired out live for all the world to watch. Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us” was one of the most talked-about halftime moments in ages — particularly after Lamar turned directly to face the camera when he name-checked Drake, flashing a giant, [mischievous grin](https://x.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1888765939153281199). The performance — which came one week after “Not Like Us” swept at the Grammys — was the knockout punch in the rappers’ feud, and the image of Lamar beaming ear-to-ear set off a [ton](https://x.com/PallaviGunalan/status/1888765722647568436) [of](https://x.com/sad_oat/status/1888996047428436212) [memes](https://x.com/wishescametrue/status/1888980388250321195). ![JD Vance Memes](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-fat-JD.jpg?w=800) Close your eyes for a moment. Picture our sitting vice president. What does he look like? Are you sure? In March, following Trump’s tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, photoshopped images of J.D. Vance had a [huge moment](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/jd-vance-meme-immigration-1235371114/) online, with the fine artists of the internet coming up with increasingly ridiculous edits of him. Many of them showed him as a chubby-cheeked [toddler](https://x.com/barflugnarven/status/1895590112828010945), often pictured with a [lollipop](https://x.com/mercar4ever/status/1895778940280848845) and propeller hat. Others got more creative with it. “I have completely forgotten what the real J.D. Vance looks like at this point,” one person [quipped](https://x.com/SperglerAcolyte/status/1896669568065806727) on X, sharing an edit of Vance with a neckbeard, one of the most enduring images of the meme era. Though the meme took off this year, its origins stem back to October 2024, when Rep. Mike Collins [posted](https://x.com/repmikecollins/status/1841462716348678274) a rather yassified looking photo of the VP. ![WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: U.S. President Donald Trump and White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sit in a Tesla Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump spoke out against calls for a boycott of Elon Musk’s companies and said he would purchase a Tesla vehicle in what he calls a ‘show of confidence and support’ for Elon Musk. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-everythings-computer-trump.jpg?w=800) Photo : Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Unfortunately, Trump is funny sometimes. One of these times was back in March, when Trump checked out a Tesla in front of the White House. Intrigued by the vehicle’s digital touchscreen, he uttered one of the most [perfect sentences](https://x.com/KylePlantEmoji/status/1899550490729324601) about modern technology in recent memory: “Everything’s computer!” Literally so true. It was an [instant](https://x.com/IterIntellectus/status/1899790164429263258) [hall-of-famer](https://x.com/name_redacted_/status/1899854809005781243) [Trumpism](https://x.com/afrocosmist/status/1899823946771349873), joining the likes of “many such cases” and “Thank you Kanye, very cool!” ![LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Lady Gaga performs on stage at The O2 Arena on September 29, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images for Live Nation)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-recession-indicator-gaga.jpg?w=800) Photo : Samir Hussein/Getty Images Economic anxiety was so back in 2025. With it came a refrain: “That’s a recession indicator.” Almost anything you can think of was probably dubbed a recession indicator this year: [Addison Rae’s music career](https://www.thecut.com/article/addison-rae-made-another-recession-core-music-video.html), the return of [flash mobs](https://x.com/stillnotziora/status/1908984307869233562), people wearing [business casual to the club](https://www.tiktok.com/@ladymisskay_/video/7240984783189314859), among others. Everywhere you looked, there were signs the economy was sliding into collapse. Though a recession hasn’t officially hit the U.S., it still sounds like it [could be coming](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-official-warns-us-recession-070000291.html), so keep storing up those recessioncore memes for 2026. ![MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 18: Ashton Hall is seen on April 18, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by 305pics/GCImages)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-ashton-hall.jpg?w=800) Photo : 305pics/GCImages Grind culture found a new patron saint in March with fitness influencer [Ashton Hall’s morning routine](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/l8N99V0BWfk). The video is a truly rich text — Hall wakes up at 3:52 a.m., does a bunch of pushups, eats a banana and then rubs the peel on his face, [journals](https://x.com/TheTumboy/status/1903076182771236907) for exactly three minutes, and dunks his head in a big bowl of Saratoga bottled water not once but [twice](https://x.com/redvivisection/status/1903138570262679833), all before 9:30 a.m. At one point, he dives off a diving board, and according to the video’s timestamps, is [suspended in midair](https://x.com/AlpelDokkan/status/1903220925635448967) for four minutes. The video is so ridiculous it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s real, parody, engagement bait, undisclosed sponcon for Saratoga, or some mysterious combination thereof. Whatever it was, the [memes](https://x.com/Wahyoenam/status/1903702158752850272) [practically](https://x.com/wholelottatr3y/status/1903485818502529041) [wrote](https://x.com/computer_gay/status/1903478023371837469) themselves. ![SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- Episode 1879 -- Pictured: (l-r) Musical guest Morgan Wallen and host Mikey Madison during Goodnights \& Credits on Saturday, March 29, 2025 -- (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-morgan-wallen-gods-country.jpg?w=800) Photo : Will Heath/NBC/Getty Images At the end of Morgan Wallen’s first Saturday Night Live gig in March, he abruptly [bounced](https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1906220126245880009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1906220126245880009%7Ctwgr%5E7a21d15e71fe88793d1aa79658b1c2ef6716d978%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Few.com%2Fembed%3Furl%3Dhttps3A2F2Fx.com2Fnbcsnl2Fstatus2F1906220126245880009id%3Dmntl-sc-block_6-0-iframeoptions%3De303DdocId%3D11708674), walking offstage midcredits as the rest of the cast (and host Mikey Madison) clapped and hugged it out as they typically do. It was a surprising exit — even more so when, shortly afterwards, he made it clear on his [Instagram Story](https://x.com/thesnlnetwork/status/1906236386052542857) just how happy he was to take his leave. “Get me to God’s country,” he wrote over a photo of his private plane. The phrase became a meme pretty much immediately, a sort of desperate request to abscond to one’s personal slice of paradise, be it the [Rainforest Cafe](https://x.com/megannn_lynne/status/1906765394959835567), [Neopia](https://x.com/tkylemac/status/1906547147299783076), or the [Myrtle-Broadway subway stop](https://x.com/nycgov/status/1906796841049432187) in Brooklyn. ![Katy Perry Comes Back To Earth After Singing On Space Trip \\ STORY AVAILABLE, CONTACT SUPPLIER\\ Where: West Texas, Texas, United States When: 14 Apr 2025 Credit: Blue Origin/Cover Images \\EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED SUPPLIER.\\ (Cover Images via AP Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-katy-perry-space.jpg?w=800) Photo : Cover Images/AP In April, a star-studded, all-women crew — which included Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, and Katy Perry — exited the Earth’s atmosphere for about 10 minutes on a rocket operated by Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin. It was already a not-so-great time to be Perry — everyone was dunking on her latest album, a [2010s throwback](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/katy-perry-143-review-1235108317/) no one asked for — and the billionaire-funded space trip just felt like further confirmation she’d lost the plot. Not helping matters: her [saying things](https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a64341516/blue-origin-female-flight-crew-space-interview-2025/) like “space is going to finally be glam” and “we are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut,” singing [“What a Wonderful World”](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/katy-perry-sings-what-a-wonderful-world-historic-all-women-blue-origin-spaceflight/) at zero gravity, and [kissing the ground](https://x.com/Wendys/status/1911933396550287524) when she landed. Obviously, it was massively roasted and sparked some [out-of-this-world](https://x.com/litcapital/status/1911808447923868111) [jokes](https://x.com/PanasonicDX4500/status/1911785153879326753) and [memes](https://x.com/Tom_Smyth_/status/1911784370295161315). What a wonderful world, indeed. ![Italian Brain Rot AI Tralalelo tralala](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-italian-brainrot.jpg?w=800) A new cast of AI-generated creatures with vaguely Italian-sounding names started taking over everyone’s TikTok For You pages in early 2025. First there was [Tralalero Tralala](https://www.tiktok.com/@urielgramx/video/7493267149444762935), a sneaker-wearing shark. Then emerged [Chimpanzini Bananini](http://ww.tiktok.com/@alexey_pigeon/video/7481225648258731286) (a chimp-banana hybrid), [Ballerina Cappuccina](https://www.tiktok.com/@aironicfun/video/7483426614135491862) (a ballet-dancing cup of cappuccino), and [Bombardiro Crocodilo](https://www.tiktok.com/@fishy.ai/video/7479115355433061654) (a combination crocodile and bomber plane), just to name a few. Not all of them were Italian — [Tung Tung Tung Sahur](https://www.tiktok.com/@ch0c0p1ez/video/7500435704938237202), a wood log with a baseball bat, was Indonesian. The number of characters that emerged from the trend is unclear, though one popular video counts [at least 100](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp-59oQng24). If you’re confused, don’t overthink it too much — like so many contenders this year, this is another one of those weird brain-rotty memes that transcends explanation and just sort of is. Ballerina Cappuccina, mi mi mi mi\! ![The Grok X AI app is used on a mobile phone with the Grok logo visible in the background in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on March 8, 2025. (Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-grok.jpg?w=800) Photo : Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Getty Images As AI chatbot use surged in 2025, the website formerly known as Twitter introduced one of its own: Grok. It quickly became common for users to reply to a tweet and tag Grok, summoning the bot to explain it, often asking, “Grok, is this true?” The phrase soon [became](https://x.com/CurtisRemarc/status/1949864005348000214) a [meme](https://x.com/jzux/status/1926346591696261209), with people using it to [mock](https://x.com/chefmade_92/status/1945083402224336971) growing [over-reliance](https://x.com/ShuraLynx/status/1915490802173649174) on AI. People did find some solid uses for Grok — namely, using it to [roast](https://x.com/stevanzetti/status/1991648172050149513?s=12) its [creator](https://x.com/mikeisaac/status/1991610138445377810?s=12), Elon Musk. Unfortunately, the chatbot did have one major downside, which was that it [really liked](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/elon-musk-grok-chatbot-antisemitic-posts-1235381165/) Hitler. ![A male Silverback Gorilla named Asato looks on in his enclosure, at Beauval Zoo, in Saint-Aignan, central France, on August 25, 2025. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP) (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP via Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-100-men-vs-gorilla.jpg?w=800) Photo : GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP/Getty Images Who would win in a fight: 100 men or one gorilla? That was the question on everyone’s minds in April. It wasn’t the first time the topic had [set off](https://www.tiktok.com/@yuri5kpt2/video/7067705291957079342) [discourse](https://www.tiktok.com/@tredouglass/video/7465035002112199966) online, but this time, it seriously took off, going viral thanks to a few posts on [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@rationalsniper/video/7495102104634248479) and [X](https://x.com/DreamChasnMike/status/1915639645204877538). A lot of people joined in on the [debate](https://x.com/iceman4_/status/1916135631920791675), or at least got in [some](https://x.com/BeSmoove7/status/1916522360754053295) [solid](https://x.com/gracecamille_/status/1916656045990056175) [jokes](https://x.com/DijahSB/status/1916855200129724627). So, what’s the answer? A few primatologists weighed in with their thoughts. Wildlife photographer and conservationist Ron Magill told [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/100-men-gorilla-debate-who-would-win-1235327636/) he thinks 100 men could defeat the gorilla if they “are committed and go in united,” but it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory. “It could be a kamikaze mission for the men closest to the gorilla,” he said. ![VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MAY 07: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING) Cardinals attends the opening of the Conclave in the sistine Chapel on May 07, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinals of the Catholic Church have descended on Vatican City to commence the papal conclave, the secretive voting process held in the Sistine Chapel that requires a two-thirds majority to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church. The election follows the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. (Photo by Vatican Media/Vatican Pool - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-conclave.jpg?w=800) Photo : Vatican Media/Vatican Pool/Corbis/Getty Images In May, shortly after the death of Pope Francis, 133 cardinals gathered in the Vatican to select the next pope. Though this is a process that dates back almost 1,000 years, this was the first one since the movie Conclave came out in 2024. As such, everyone [suddenly knew](https://x.com/Leonsjogren/status/1914229676056494352) how conclaves worked and [proved](https://x.com/willfulchaos/status/1914293384535015919) it with the [most](https://x.com/renegadeapostle/status/1914229741042938242) [blessed](https://twitter.com/saintdutchess/status/1920516261294796918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1920516261294796918%7Ctwgr%5E9ef7cb7eeea3dbb1c8a75bcbb27405167595ece1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecut.com%2Farticle%2Fall-the-best-reactions-to-the-new-pope.html) [memes](https://x.com/shecononmyclave/status/1920108309832450493). People were [stanning](https://x.com/ghoulhag/status/1920137618299179100) [their](https://x.com/every_uno717/status/1920259671178559491) [favorite](https://x.com/tiramiiiiiiisu/status/1914622491709890769) [cardinals](https://x.com/gldivittorio/status/1920175264849449335), reading all the latest conclave news on [Pope Crave](https://x.com/ClubConcrave/status/1920132790059782191), and even posted about the [seagulls](https://x.com/TheHappyPriest/status/1920158180421570969) on the [roof](https://x.com/RESP3CT4N/status/1920164134164812208) of the Sistine Chapel to pass the time while they awaited white smoke. ![NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 05: Zendaya attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/FilmMagic)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-zendaya-hat-theory.jpg?w=800) Photo : Theo Wargo/FilmMagic Way back in September 2014, Zendaya wore an enormous Armani hat to the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party. The hat was very big, and the photos were very funny. Flash forward to this May, and the image resurfaced on TikTok, where user [@thesnakesbloxx](https://www.tiktok.com/@thesnakesbloxx/video/7499483469060312322) paired a bunch of low-res clips of the photo with some eerie-sounding audio from Ethel Cain’s Perverts. As that TikTok went viral, so did the “Zendaya hat theory” meme — particularly after Zendaya wore another big hat to the Met Gala just as the meme was gaining traction. So, what is the theory? Well, it doesn’t actually exist — the concept was basically just a parody of online conspiracy theories, with a people vaguely suggesting something was hiding under the hat or that it had some cryptic deeper meaning. As far as we could tell, the only thing the hat was covering up was her head. ![with mama](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-with-mama.jpg?w=800) Photo : Getty Images A sort of “don’t talk to [me or my son](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/i-will-re-meme-ber-you) ever again” for the modern age, photos of baby animals “with mama” took over in a huge way throughout 2025. After the first instance — an image of the [solar system](https://A%20sort%20of%20“don’t%20talk%20to%20me%20or%20my%20son%20ever%20again”%20for%20the%20modern%20age,%20photos%20of%20baby%20animals%20“with%20mama”%20took%20over%20in%20a%20huge%20way%20throughout%202025.%20The%20first%20instance%20—%20thought%20to%20be%20this%20solar%20system%20one%20—%20first%20went%20viral%20on%20Tumblr,%20but%20similarly%20adorable%20memes%20soon%20started%20popping%20up%20on%20Instagram%20and%20had%20major%20staying%20power%20for%20months%20to%20come.) with the caption “let’s orbit around mama” — went viral on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/letsblogwithmama), adorable memes soon started popping up on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DJHgZ-vSlgW) and had major staying power for months to come. ![WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave his role in the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/eoy-memes-trump-musk-breakup.jpg?w=800) Photo : Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images It was the breakup of the year. In June, Elon Musk — who up until this point had been besties with the president — came out against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. Obviously, Trump didn’t take it too well, and the two began [publicly feuding](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/donald-trump-elon-musk-break-up-1235356751/) on social media, their once close relationship flaming out in spectacular fashion. Who could’ve guessed that two of the biggest egos in federal government would eventually butt heads? Naturally, the very online (including one of Musk’s many [baby mamas](https://x.com/stclairashley/status/1930691134138855638)) rose to the occasion with some [truly](https://x.com/jzux/status/1930721473544470779) [excellent](https://x.com/herosnvrdie69/status/1930709839086338482) [posts](https://x.com/Fred_Delicious/status/1930718491843121446). Photo : DUTCH/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images It was quite a year for Justin Bieber — one during which he found himself especially hounded by the celebrity gossip machine. By June, it seems like he’d finally had enough, and he confronted paparazzi outside the Soho House in Malibu. “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” he told the photographers. The [video](https://x.com/onlinegirlie/status/1933961954827387008) circulated widely, and people clowned on him pretty hard for the sorta cringey and not exactly correct use of [AAVE slang](https://www.complex.com/music/a/jaelaniturnerwilliams/justin-bieber-becomes-viral-meme-for-misusing-aave). But “standing on business” became a pretty much inescapable [part](https://x.com/MFPWBILJONAS/status/1939107244119072904) of the [meme](https://x.com/shutyourhell/status/1936992278855446853) [lexicon](https://x.com/elioandoliverse/status/1936847585349619987) after that. Photo : Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto/Getty Images One of the most ubiquitous TikTok audios of the year came courtesy of a U.K. tour operator’s [commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQZEoZ4W0ac) from 2024, showing a family frolicking on vacation. “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday!” a very peppy British woman says in the ad, as Jess Glynne’s 2015 song “Hold My Hand” plays in the background. Soon, people were using the audio over videos of [vacation](https://www.tiktok.com/@nenepet99/video/7518009850849447175)–[related](https://www.tiktok.com/@wsggyumii/video/7525805421437734162) [mishaps](https://www.tiktok.com/@tishiraatkins/video/7568945229059935502). By the middle of the summer, it was [unavoidable.](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/jet2-holiday-summer-meme-1235390750/) Thanks to the trend, “Hold My Hand” was one of [TikTok’s top songs](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tiktok-connie-francis-2025-top-global-song-1235480832/) of the year. Photo : Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto/Getty Images Everywhere you look online, there’s another microtrend being shoveled through the algorithm. In 2025, that creeping ennui of overconsumerist slop [crystallized](https://x.com/gomenstruation/status/1913043120973054388) [into](https://x.com/muggsyOh/status/1942626337254178890) a [meme](https://www.tiktok.com/@canyoufindmeahouse/video/7541278696393493815): “Labubu matcha Dubai chocolate,” a sort of word salad summing up the year’s most inescapable fads — a Nordic-inspired toy, Japanese drink, and pistachio-filled candy bar, respectively. At times, other words and phrases made it into the memes, particularly [Stanley cups](https://www.tiktok.com/@alexrein333/video/7523675980968267063), [Benson Boone](https://www.tiktok.com/@goonmanpercy/video/7533060292847193375), [Love Island](https://x.com/byzantinecopt/status/1943730587317285042), and [Crumbl cookies](https://x.com/OhioWhomp/status/1940894758609780985). Photo : Zamrznuti tonovi/Adobe Stock Are you a guy who carries [feminist lit](https://www.tiktok.com/@eionfalance/video/7551089450084879629) around in your [tote bag](https://www.tiktok.com/@yungjackinnanen/video/7541520045025856776)? Do you listen to Clairo in your [wired earbuds](https://www.tiktok.com/@stc.1019/photo/7536621891411463430) while sipping an [oat milk matcha latte](https://www.tiktok.com/@sspencerevans/video/7531566121787378974)? Congratulations, you might just be a performative male. Though many terms have been floated in the past for dudes who fake emotional sensitivity and feminist ideals to get into their Hinge date’s pants — “softboy” and “male manipulator,” in particular — “performative male” took off in a big way in 2025. By the summer, “[performative](https://www.tiktok.com/@masha_holman/video/7536634538928213303) [male](https://www.tiktok.com/@rebabeba/video/7543489622144273678) [contests](https://www.tiktok.com/@namyarfx/video/7529309779366300983)” began popping up across the country, with men competing to be crowned the pick-me guy final boss. One could argue that ironically competing in such a contest is perhaps the greatest “performative male” indicator of them all, but that’s a discussion for another day. Photo : Ethan Miller/Getty Images At a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts in July, the kiss-cam panned to one unsuspecting couple. A split second after popping up on the Jumbotron, the man and woman — who had been wrapped up in each others’ arms, looking very much in love — suddenly broke apart. The woman turned around, back to the camera, while the man ducked down to the ground. “Oh, look at these two,” Chris Martin said. “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” The public latched onto the idea that it was the former after the two were quickly identified as Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, the CEO and head of HR, respectively, of the tech company Astronomer, both of whom were married to other people. [Sources](https://people.com/astronomer-ceo-and-employee-caught-coldplay-concert-camera-not-having-affair-source-11811796) have since claimed there wasn’t an affair at all — this was just a show of their “excellent working relationship,” and the [divorce](https://people.com/husband-of-astronomer-wife-in-coldplay-kiss-cam-controversy-speaks-out-11806074) that came after was in the works before the incident. But at the time it was a rare bit of monoculture, [sparking](https://x.com/ericmmatheny/status/1945959762241142823) a [ton](https://x.com/fuqingaverage/status/1945950810342318171) of [jokes](https://x.com/DaveMcNamee3000/status/1945887790220320939) (even from the pair’s former [company](https://x.com/RobertMSterling/status/1948911902014545937)) as everyone gobbled up the undeniably juicy scandal of a CEO and HR exec seemingly caught in a very unprofessional act. As one person [wrote](https://x.com/greg16676935420/status/1946012171491528717) on X, “Shoutout to Coldplay for bringing the whole internet together for one day.” Photo : Getty Images If you’ve ever spoken to a teen or twentysomething and been met with a blank stare and silence, you’ve probably experienced the so-called “Gen Z stare.” The term refers to the [dead-eyed look](https://www.tiktok.com/@trevonwoodburyy/video/7526263930897878302) zoomers supposedly give older people when asked a question, often in [classrooms](https://www.tiktok.com/@mikayladane13/video/7526572751755185463) or [customer service](https://www.tiktok.com/@yoleendadong/video/7532319748596436280) settings (or when you’re [Sydney Sweeney](https://x.com/PandasAndVidya/status/1986625801593180495) being asked about your jeans ad). The concept of a “Gen Z stare” started gaining traction on TikTok in July, though members of the generation were quick to deny its existence, with many defending it as a valid reaction to dealing with stupid people. “Your question was so idiotic it reset my brain,” one TikToker [wrote](https://www.tiktok.com/@misa._.ann/video/7526039889284975902). Photo : Emily Curiel/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service/Getty Images In case you hadn’t heard, it was a pretty big year for Taylor Swift. Between buying [back her masters](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-buys-original-album-recordings-1235351164/) and bringing an [entire new audience](https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/taylor-swift-nfl-women-fans-1236542207/) to the NFL, she somehow found time to roll out a whole new album. After she [announced](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-new-album-the-life-of-a-showgirl-1235350951/) The Life of a Showgirl on the Kelce brothers’ podcast in August, it basically took over the zeitgeist, filling everyone’s feeds with memes of other [sparkly](https://x.com/gilmxres/status/1955251645714956735), [feather-boa–wearing](https://x.com/hayleyepiphany/status/1955130323164926403) icons. That’s [showbiz](https://x.com/drewg_t/status/1955394660911944193), babe. Photo : Getty Images The Rapture has been incorrectly predicted more than a few times throughout history, but never has it happened in such an online way. In September, a handful of Evangelical Christians thought the world was going to end, and it became a [whole](https://www.tiktok.com/@kingdomwealth_christina/video/7550406835736431903) [thing](https://www.tiktok.com/@tilahun.desalegn/video/7540456941437472008) on TikTok. The prophecy came by way of South African pastor [Joshua Mhlakela](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/rapture-tiktok-christianity-bible-1235433294/), who in a sermon posted to [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSfKjB9xkPM), claimed Jesus Christ had personally told him the Rapture would take place on Sept. 23 or 24. Well, apparently either Jesus or Joshua was wrong, but everyone had a [lot](https://x.com/missmilkton/status/1970317753463517358) [of](https://x.com/zoerosebryant/status/1970197569348227230) [fun](https://www.tiktok.com/@itsjennalu/video/7553099914151021838) anyway. Photo : CHRIS DELMAS/AFP/Getty Images Some memes have a fascinating, deep inner meaning. This one does not. Perhaps the most significant Gen Alpha meme to date (sorry, [Skibidi Toilet](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/best-memes-2023-1234918358/angela-basset-did-the-thing-1234919955/)), shouts of “[six seven](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/six-seven-meme-explained-skrilla-rap-1235463481/)” became all but inescapable in middle school classrooms across the country this fall. It initially took off among basketball fans — the phrase first appeared in Skrilla’s song [“Doot Doot (6 7)”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnygT6ANLzQ), which then became the soundtrack to a ton of TikTok edits of NBA stars, particularly six-foot-seven [LaMelo Ball](https://www.tiktok.com/@ballisticeditz06/video/7475643830566391071). So, what does it mean? Well, basically nothing. After reaching ubiquity on TikTok, the phrase just became a thing kids couldn’t stop saying, a mass inside joke only made funnier by the fact that teachers and parents didn’t get it. That is, until [Halloween](https://www.thecut.com/article/most-popular-halloween-costume-2025-six-seven.html), when many of these lame grownups dressed up as “six seven,” thus immediately making it cringe and freeing us all. Photo : Stephanie Saias\* In October, while promoting her new song, Australian singer-songwriter Sophia James posted seven different TikToks as a “little science experiment to see what video gets the most reach.” In the [seventh video](https://www.tiktok.com/@sophiajamesmusic/video/7562061800192183583), she told her audience as much. “If you are watching this video, you are in Group 7,” she said. For whatever elusive reason the TikTok algorithm decreed, that’s the one that went viral. Soon, people all over TikTok were making TikToks [proclaiming](https://www.tiktok.com/@daydreamwithjas/video/7564033536076877074) their [Group 7](https://www.tiktok.com/@cassiesbooktok/video/7563753170715823371) [pride](https://www.tiktok.com/@catrionathomas/video/7564001226623421718). The children long for school spirit week. - [Culture](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/) - [(Sub)Culture Lists](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/) ### More News
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