The death of an internet meme usually happens slowly. A joke gets old, people stop making it and it eventually fades away from public consciousness until years later when it inexplicably shows up on your aunt’s Facebook page. Tonight, we all got to witness a meme die quickly and suddenly on national television. After years of fruitless nominations, Leonardo DiCaprio finally took home the Oscar for Best Actor.
This was in no way a guarantee. Sure, he won the Golden Globe and there was a lot of buzz leading up to the night’s festivities about his performance in The Revenant. We’d been here before. We’d see him give a spectacular performance and head into the night as a clear front-runner only to see the golden statue slip away. In an otherwise boring night, the Best Actor category had everyone on edge.
Some remained hopeful.
Maybe we really could finally put this meme to bed for good.
Others were sure it would never happen.
Like the Academy would go to extreme lengths to prevent DiCaprio from taking the stage.
Or the award would be snatched away at the last possible second.
Mostly, we just waited. For a long, long time.
Some speculated the waiting was wearing on DiCaprio himself. While he may have looked like this on the outside.
We’re pretty sure something else was going on beneath the surface.
Deep down, everyone wanted to see him win.
It would just feel right.
Well, it happened.
DiCaprio won and the internet erupted in celebration.
Some people are still wondering if this is even real. It has been a long night, after all.”
Even DeCaprio might need a little reassurance.
But it’s real. He took the stage like
And we finally got to hear a Leonardo DiCaprio Oscar acceptance speech.
All in all, though a beloved joke has been taken from us, the moment made the internet feel like…
So this is how a meme dies… with thunderous applause.
Though who knows? We may not have seen the last of this meme. I couldn’t help but notice another nominee that consistently lost in every category tonight.
Title idea for Episode VIII: A New Leo.
But we’ll have to wait for the 2018 Oscars to see if that catches on. For now, we have a new reason to celebrate February 29. It’s no longer Leap Day…
Happy Leo Day, everyone.
