Photo Credit: Bob Levey/Getty Images
Memes Rule Everything Around Me: Tekashi 6ix9ine Tells On Everyone, Keke Palmer's "Sorry To This Man" & More
Source: Nickelodeon
And of course, SpongeBob Squarepants' "Ight I'mma Head Out."
Another month, another Memes Rule Around Everything Me. September gave us a handful of great memes but there were some that were just way more memorable than others. And it's only right that we begin this roundup with the memes that were inspired by Tekashi 6ix9ine's testimony two weeks ago.
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Out of Tekashi's misfortune — which, honestly, he continues to bring upon himself especially now that he reportedly won't enter witness protection —has come countless memes, most of them centered around his testimony against his former crew, the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, in federal court in Manhattan.
6ix9ine's remarks ranged from discussing his earlier viral songs like "Kooda" and "Gummo" to claiming that Trippie Redd was a part of a gang called the Five Nine Brims. (The rapper also claimed that rapper Jim Jones is a member of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.)
READ: What Will it Take for a Woman in Rap to Thrive in Peace?
Because of the testimony and what was revealed, 6ix9ine remained a trending topic throughout the week, news reports getting muddled in with jokes about who the rapper was also willing to snitch on to receive a lighter sentence. (It's worth noting that 6ix9ine testified that he can be home by next year. Previously, he was facing a minimum sentence of 47 years before cutting a deal with prosecutors.)
None— CHALITO\ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f (@CHALITO\ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f) 1568982077
\u201chttps://t.co/lbmPbZ24Ql\u201d— Buttigieg Buttijury Butticutioner (@Buttigieg Buttijury Butticutioner) 1569112821
\u201c#6ix9ine \n69: I ain\u2019t no snitch \nJudge: Fine, 47 years for you. \n69: Y\u2019all wanna know where the 6 infinity stones are?\u201d— Polilo (@Polilo) 1568964701
During his testimony, 6ix9ine also acknowledged that Cardi B was a member of the Bloods. (In a since-deleted tweet she clarified that she is with the Brims, another Blood set.) She took to her Instagram to offer an indirect response to the reports, and used a certain video clip that will serve as our second favorite meme of the month — Keke Palmer's "Sorry to this man."
If there was any meme that defined this month it'd be this one. The clip is taken from a lie detector test Palmer did for Vanity Fair, where she answered questions about her birth place, her real name, and her dating preferences. However, when asked whether her character on the Nickelodeon show True Jackson, VP was a better VP than Vice President Dick Cheney, she had no idea who Cheny he was.
"I don't know who this man is," she said. "He could be walking down the street and I wouldn't know a thing. Sorry to this man."
The lie detector test determined that she wasn't lying about not knowing who Cheney is, but, more importantly, it birthed a very important meme. It has since been used as a reaction to running into exes, dealing with student loans, and trying to keep up with the countless rappers whose names begin with "Lil."
\u201cWhenever I\u2019m asked about 90 percent of the rappers with Lil as part of their name \n\u201d— Jemele Hill (@Jemele Hill) 1568429728
\u201cSNL to Shane Gills\u201d— Matthew A. Cherry (@Matthew A. Cherry) 1568667491
After the clip became viral, Palmer spoke about it with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live.
"I was just thrown because I did not expect — I truly was sorry to that man. I just felt bad because I didn't know who he was. Because I knew it was going to be somebody that maybe everybody knew," she said.
And when asked again if she really didn't know who Cheney is, she responded: "I didn't know [but] I'm actually fine. After finding out who he is, I'm glad I didn't know."
Palmer has also made merch inspired by the meme, which is available on her website.
And, lastly, let's give it up to SpongeBob Squarepants, the Nickelodeon cartoon that has inspired countless memes, most recently the one below.
A screenshot from the 2001 episode "The Smoking Peanut," the "Ight Imma Head Out" meme shows what appears to be a disinterested and exhausted-looking SpongeBob as he rises from his chair to go somewhere. (The irony of this screenshot is that the scene actually shows him about to sit down.)
The image now represents a feeling many of us can relate to: the desire to leave an awkward situation before it escalates even further.
\u201cQuiet white kid: I\u2019M SICK OF THIS SHIT\n\nMe:\u201d— hoesama bin laden (@hoesama bin laden) 1567044165
\u201cTeacher:\u201dok class today we\u2019re gonna be doing group work\u201d\nmy antisocial ass self:\u201d— Belly (@Belly) 1567108429
This year marks the 20th anniversary of SpongeBob Squarepants (the first episode aired on May 1, 1999), and this latest meme serves as a testament to how influential the series has been to meme culture, having had some of the best cartoon-based memes to be created.
And wow, how could we forget about The Weeknd's mustache? In early September, the pop artist unveiled a new look quite different from the one we're used to. The Weeknd was present at the Toronto Film Festival for the premiere of Adam Sandler's new film Uncut Gems (the "I Can't Feel My Face" singer makes his feature film debut in the project), where pictures were taken of him dawning a new haircut and mustache.
\u201cmy brain literally won\u2019t let me accept that this is the weeknd\u201d— zoey\u2077 (@zoey\u2077) 1568092363
None— Bisola Peperempe (@Bisola Peperempe) 1568105424
\u201cIt\u2019s not The Weeknd anymore it\u2019s El fin de la semana\u201d— TurntMuslim (@TurntMuslim) 1568094241
Even Bruno Mars reacted to the new look.
Well, there you have it. These are the best memes for the month of September, and as always peep the honorable mentions below.
No one is amused.
\u201cThe best part of this colonizer clip is the complete indifference on the face of every Black person. https://t.co/ZfBVB5C5w4\u201d— Marc Lamont Hill (@Marc Lamont Hill) 1568300310