The Best Memes of 2023

Another rotation around the sun means another year stacked with memes. But considering how fast-paced the world of social media can be, you’d be forgiven for not remembering every viral tweet or trend that had you chuckling under the covers at odd hours of the morning this year.

So, to help jog your memory, Vogue has rounded up the best memes of 2023. Whether you’re here to relive the glory days of the Barbenheimer phenomenon or experience another level of second-hand cringe at the words “Angela Bassett did the thing,” follow along as we unveil the best memes of the year.

Gag City

What’s Gag City, you ask? Ahead of releasing Pink Friday 2, Nicki Minaj tweeted a teaser captioned “Approaching Gag City.” Quick to respond (and start a new meme), the Barbz conjured images of the rose-tinted metropolis using AI—even going so far as to assign political leadership to it (with Minaj, of course, the leader). 

Pingu Dead-Staring to Mozart

The likes of Mozart and Beethoven could not have possibly imagined their compositions backing silly little videos of animated penguins on billions of phones across the world. The thought makes it all the funnier when I see Pingu, a kids’ show character, staring wide-eyed as Mozart’s “Lacrimosa” plays. 

HUH Cat

Who doesn’t love a cat meme? When you don’t understand something, or just can’t hear the person talking to you and need them to repeat themselves for the third time in a row, referencing the “HUH?” cat will get your point across.

I’m Just a Girl

To clarify, no, this is not a play on Julia Roberts’s Notting Hill monologue. “I’m just a girl” emerged as a reaction to the crushing burdens of modern womanhood, justifying a certain kind of indulgence. Why are you tired between 3 and 5 p.m.? Why do you deserve a coffee and sweet treat in the middle of the day,? Because you’re just a girl trying to make it all work.

Squirtle Playing the Saxophone

That’s it! That’s the meme. It’s a Pokémon with sunglasses, blowing away on the saxophone to the tune of “Run Away” by SunStroke Project. The animation mirrors a video of “Epic Sax Guy” doing the same, and it’s just a mood.

Who’s That Wonderful Girl? Could She Be Any Cuter?

Thank you to whoever started this meme for forcing me to listen to some positive affirmations. The viral clip comes from Nanalan, an old Canadian children’s show.

DJ Khalid Says the Darndest Things

Call me Tiger Woods, because I’m about to drive this point home: I’ve been reprimanded far too many times for saying “LET’S GO GOLFING” in the tone of DJ Khalid, and it’s all because of this internet meme. Someone out there thought it was a good idea to “bring out the whole ocean” of DJ Khalid’s most out-of-pocket, out-of-context sayings, and the result is perfect:

Usher, EryKah Badu, and Quavo Front Row at Marni

What’s better than one star’s masterclass in fashion-week dressing? A group serve. The three performers were spotted front row at Marni’s spring 2024 show in head-turning ’fits—and once the images hit the web, they immediately took off.

Vince McMahon Tearing Up

Not much needs to be said about this meme except it’s too real. The clip comes from a documentary in which former WWE CEO Vince McMahon is asked how much wrestling champion The Undertaker meant to him. Overwhelmed with emotion, McMahon motions to cut the cameras. Online, users coopted the moment for their own objects of nostalgic longing. 

Josh Hutcherson Rick Rolls the Internet

Move over, Rick Astley, because Gen-Z Netizens have officially dubbed this 2014 fan edit of Josh Hutcherson the modern Rickroll. As a die-hard Hunger Games fan who witnessed the birth of videos like these in real time (#TeamPeeta), it’s no surprise a piece of THG fan history has reclaimed its rightful place at the forefront of internet virality.

AI Cartoons Characters in Their Feelings

Social media users have found all kinds of creative uses for artificial intelligence. What began—controversially—with some using AI to make their favorite artists sing songs from other musicians (or even rap original music), the internet has moved on to depicting their favorite cartoon characters in their feelings, at the top of their game, or simply balling out.

This Stock Photo of Kevin James

Caption a photo of Kevin James dressed as his character from The King of Queens, looking sheepishly at the camera with his hands in his pockets, and you have yourself a viral meme.

This Video of Jeremy Allen White

Since The Bear became a hit, many started pulling clips of Jeremy Allen White from his Shameless days. One went viral simply for the off-centered stare White gives the camera.

Cats at the Met Gala

The Met Gala always attracts attention online, as people breathlessly check how their favorite stars interpreted the theme. At this year’s event, Doja Cat and Lil Nas X seemed to take the cake with their glittery feline ensembles.

Ariana DeBose at the BAFTAs

The star’s monologue-rap at the BAFTAs sparked a number of cringe-filled reactions, but one thing viewers couldn’t seem to forget was the vague lyric “Angela Bassett did the thing.”

Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin Marry

When photos of Sprouse and Palvin’s wedding went viral online, users congratulated the couple in a funny, nostalgic way, citing Sprouse’s days promoting the Danimals yogurt sweepstakes when he was a Disney Channel star. All Gen-Z kids can remember trying—and failing—to win.

When Everyone Started Dissecting the Physics of The Fast and the Furious

A lot of hilarious internet discourse ensues when one user poses a question that goes absolutely viral. In this case, it was when @KevOnStage asked, “What was the moment Fast and Furious abandoned reality.” The internet had a lot to say—and a lot of content to work with, since the franchise is at 10 films and counting.

Taylor Swift Fans Take Ticketmaster Down

“Ticketmaster-gate” will go down in history as the time Swifties toppled Ticketmaster; fans sued the company after they were unable to buy tickets to Swift’s Eras Tour. The fracas garnered a statement from Taylor Swift herself, and not only resulted in a lawsuit but also bills in state legislatures and Congressional hearings.

Barbie Breaks the Internet

Shoutout to Barbie’s marketing team for their master class in social media mayhem ahead of the film’s July release. For a period of time, you couldn’t go online without seeing something related to the bleach-blonde doll; from memes like “Hi Barbie” to “She’s everything, he’s just Ken,” Barbie’s relevance lasted years in internet terms. 

When posters for the film were first revealed, the internet wasted no time casting their own favs into the mix.

After fans learned that Oppenheimer and Barbie would be released on the same day, they joked about watching the two back to back, citing the humorously stark contrast between the rose-colored feel-good film and serious historical biopic.

Then fans then started comparing Barbenheimer to similar double features with seemingly opposite vibes. One ticket to The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! anyone?

Even Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy seemed to get in on the fun…

Barbie fans also meme-d about the funny character dynamics in the film, specifically between Barbie, with her capacity to be and do everything, and…Ken.

This format went viral, too:

Twitter Is Now “X”

When Elon Musk announced Twitter’s rebrand to “X,” many users weren’t happy, clowning on the change that no one signed up for.

Astro Boy Boots

Is this where the wrong-shoe trend started? Once the internet caught wind of these cartoonish red boots from MSCHF, the memes sort of wrote themselves.

Stop Normalizing the Grind…

Romanticizing anything that resembled the quiet life—a cozy-girl mentality, a sleepy woodland animal—became a trend. Because, frankly, there is something beautifully aspirational about a picture of Winnie the Pooh wrapped up in a blanket drinking tea. Iterations of the meme also come in the form of “the sexual tension between me and [insert cozy activity here],” and “the feminine urge to…”

Honk Shoo-ing

In the vein of romanticizing coziness, the vibe of the SleepyTime Tea Bear became universally coveted this year. “Honk shoo,” the sound a fictional bear might make while passed out in an armchair, appeared in almost every tweet that described emulating the tea bear’s sensibility. Some even took it a step further, and tried to “steal his look”—making outfit breakdowns a part of the meme too.

Pedro Pascal and Nicholas Cage

This clip from The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent went viral, as social media users latched on to Pedro Pascal’s wholesome demeanor and Nicholas Cage’s outrageous stare.

They’re Playing Football During a Rihanna Concert

Considering Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime show was the most-watched halftime performance of all time, it’s not a surprise that the internet was in a frenzy before, during, and after what people jokingly called a Rihanna concert…with some football.