Madonna’s 1989 hit single “Like a Prayer” has been performed countless times.
But if you open TikTok right now, the first thing you’ll probably see is the sing-along version recorded for Marvel’s recent film Deadpool & Wolverine. And which Muppets appear together? Well, he’s more than an integral part of TikTok’s latest meme. He proves that even TikTok jokes can’t escape the internet’s ongoing debate about health care in the United States.
Tik Tok’s latest meme doesn’t have an official name, but it features Pepe the King Prawn, the wild-haired Spanish Muppet character who first appeared as part of Muppets Tonight in the 1990s. It is well known for its For You Pages. The format is concise and soundtracked by the sweet chorus of “Like A Prayer,” TikTok creators use Pepe’s battered photos to post their wildest and most embarrassing stories. The reigning champion right now is the story of creator Megan Chacalos (@meganchacalos). She delighted her followers with her story of accidentally passing out on a slippery path of olive oil, earning her the nickname “Olive Oil Girl” online. Attempts to achieve silky hair twice woke her father up, convinced his house was being broken into, and Chacalos said he would go to school the next day with olive oil and a saran-wrapped head. It ended in the end.
Chakalos’ story wasn’t the first to use the Pepe/”Like A Prayer” format, but her video has garnered over 56 million views and 7.3 million likes. inspired a wave of similar confessions. Other popular additions include a girl who mistakes bloodstains in her uterus for a miscarriage, a girl who accidentally eats bad mole and gets fatal food poisoning, and a college girl who gets wiped out on a longboard and gets crows descending on the wreckage of her ship. There is. Her lunch, and herself. There are more than 150,000 TikToks posted with the 58-second sound clip, including thousands of other users who rank some of the videos, comment on them, and generally have a good laugh. Not yet.
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This in itself is a very blatant example of how TikTok’s popular meme format allows creators to connect moments that become funnier over time. (I doubt Olive Oil Girl was laughing on her way to her locker that first morning.) But looking at the broader discussion from last week, another reason this meme has become so big is: Obviously it’s because it’s humorous. A place for people to discuss and joke around about their frustrations and problems with the US healthcare system.
Last week, a gunman shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel, leaving Thompson dead and sparking a massive investigation by New York police. But online, the killing was met with callousness and jokes, with many saying it was a direct result of frustration and anxiety about America’s current for-profit health care system. People reacted similarly to the news of Mr. Thompson’s death because the system often disenfranchises customers and can leave families crippled with large debts. One X user wrote, “I have sent prior permissions, denied charges, collections, and prayers to my family.” Another tweeted: “As a person covered by United Healthcare, I completely understand the steps taken.” In her article “Are You Laughing at a Man Who Was Murdered in Cold Blood?”, New Yorker author Gia Tolentino points out that United Healthcare has the highest claim denial rate of any private insurance company. . The suspect, Luigi Mangione, 26, was then taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder. Still, people on the internet continue to want pictures of him, trivia about his life, and joke about his alleged behavior. And while the joke continues, the focus shifts away from the shooter and remains riveted on the industry Thompson represented.
That’s why it’s no surprise that some of the biggest and most memorable “Pepe The King Prawn” memes revolve around users experiencing health crises or humiliation, among others. In fact, many of the humorous stories seem to be made worse by people’s fears about health care costs. Like the college student who flew home in a near-death condition to see a doctor covered by his insurance, only to vomit in his socks during the Uber ride. Or the Target employee whose pain was ignored by the ER doctor and the follow-up appointment was too expensive, resulting in emergency cholecystectomy surgery.
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It’s clear that posting pictures of Muppets and medical anxiety is not going to change America’s for-profit healthcare system. But for the social media generation, who grew up with the idea of posting through social media, posting memes and jokes even in dire situations, the Pepe the Shrimp meme has a clear sense of sympathy, and it shows that people are at their most desperate. Even in these moments, they are not alone. In the meantime, let the choir sing.
