One remarkable thing about the internet is memes and their emergence as one of the most effective ways of conveying various sentiments —often helped by a clever caption. I know my life would not be complete without them or animated GIFS. I mean, seriously, I end nearly every Facebook fight with that Nene Leakes GIF where she passionately mouths her infamous catchphrase, “I SAID WHAT I SAID!” It’s a classic!
But what about the viral memes and GIFS seemingly featuring everyday people who aren’t famous reality stars? They’re real people in most cases, meaning non-celebrities, and their scenarios were often real moments captured in time, then given an entirely new life on social media. Do you ever wonder, though, who are these nameless people who’ve become internet famous?
For example, have you ever seen the meme of a young woman looking alone and out of place on a dance floor, smack dab in the middle of a sea of shirtless leather-clad daddies? It’s been shared like a gazillion times. The first I saw it was last year with the snarky but funny caption, “Camila Cabello looking for Shawn Mendes at the Black Party.”
Unfounded swipes at Mendez’s sexuality aside, the meme has come to represent the ultimate image shared to convey a sense of isolation and being out of place like a misfit who does not belong. Most recently, the meme popped up in a tweet from Twitter user Mikey Almeida who added a comical caption to the repertoire, ‘olivia rodrigo with her fans.”
Rodrigo is a new teen pop sensation whose hit single, “Drivers License,” made her an immediate darling of the gays (although I never heard of her —no shade.)
olivia rodrigo with her new fans pic.twitter.com/ufeExdw71f
— ✨ Mikey ✨ (@mikey_almeida) May 21, 2021
The amount of times that meme has been shared is immeasurable, but if you have ever wondered who is the girl in the image, finally, this great mystery of life is now solved.
It turns out Amruta Godbole, the young lady in the center of all that sexy daddy goodness retweeted Almeida’s meme along with the caption,
“I’m in this photo, and I don’t like. Jk. I mean, that is actually me in the photo. But I like it every time.”
Godbole, an attorney from San Francisco, answered a Twitter user’s request for a backstory of the photo. Godbole confirmed the moment was authentic, and at the time, that was her honest reaction when she and a friend stumbled upon the Folsom Street Fair.
She explains,
“A friend took a photo of me at Folsom Street Fair a couple of years ago, posted to IG, it somehow went viral, and now it’s a meme! (Comes up about monthly, in various languages, across the internet.) A fun “fun fact”!”
A friend took a photo of me at Folsom Street Fair a couple years ago, posted to IG, it somehow went viral, and now it’s a meme! (Comes up about monthly, in various languages, across the internet.) A fun “fun fact”!
— Amruta Godbole (@dj_roots) May 22, 2021
Yes that is a fun fact indeed. Now, if Amruta Godbole could only help me locate the dude in this viral Netflix meme, I’d be all set!
