Why Kevin James Is Social Media’s Favorite New Meme
The internet has never been so in love with Kevin James. New memes featuring the actor in a press photo from his sitcom King of Queens have swarmed social media, confusing and exciting users in equal measure.
The photo in question was taken by Tony Esparza sometime in 1998 for CBS Studios in the lead-up to the show's premiere. Many of the memes using the image are still emblazoned with the Getty Images logo across the bottom corner. It features James making a bizarrely inscrutable face, somewhere between sheepish admission and hopeless come-on.
According to Know Your Meme, the first iteration was posted on September 21 by X user @ChampagneAnyone. It’s since accrued millions of views as well as imitators. It's unclear what exactly caused the meme to take off over 25 years after the original photo's publication. It could be because, like all great memes, James' expression is basic enough to fit a variety of circumstances while being specific enough to inspire a barrage of jokes. Or, it could've just been a slow weekend on the internet.
Nevertheless, almost everyone seemed to get in on the trend.
me after 1 double rum and diet pic.twitter.com/zfJFNCuCbT
— andy from 5 to 7 (@ChampagneAnyone) September 22, 2023
@dudemanburner was one of the first to adopt the new gag, posting his version the following morning.
Officer: have you had anything to drink tonight?
— dudemanburner (@dudemanburner) September 22, 2023
Me: pic.twitter.com/yW7vjlESAf
The trend quickly spread to Instagram and TikTok. Know Your Meme notes that the photo is “often paired with captions about being confident and cheeky.”
"Hey aren't you that guy from that meme?"
— Matjoman Randisavić (@klezmergord) September 25, 2023
Kevin James: pic.twitter.com/YMLJcZE7AR
"Kevin James did you set off a nuclear bomb"
— s-k‽ (@sksdeux) September 25, 2023
Kevin James: pic.twitter.com/vuMZbZ2roN
My buddy’s buddy who I’ve never met before when I pull my vape out pic.twitter.com/M6GvYiUJxu
— Miscounted Cash Flow (@Miscountedcf) September 23, 2023
Some users quickly brought the joke to a metatextual level.
Me when I’m Kevin James doing promotional photos for “King of Queens” pic.twitter.com/9Qb4GXAPH5
— Ashley Reese (@offbeatorbit) September 25, 2023
Me:"I hate that Kevin James meme"
— Su❌ (@Subh_B3) September 25, 2023
Kevin James memes: pic.twitter.com/zgrSyX1Wuh
Others took to the Kevin James archives to find similar snaps.
collecting every photo of kevin james making that little smirky face that i can find pic.twitter.com/bSoLdFIQ8r
— eddie (@agrosserlook) September 25, 2023
It remains to be seen if the "Kevin James Shrugging" meme will maintain its hold on the internet for any more than a week or so. Either way, it's given the actor some cred and introduced him to new fans who'd never even heard of him before.
King of Queens ran for nine seasons on CBS from 1998–2007. In addition to James, it also stars Leah Remini and Jerry Stiller. It's currently streaming on Peacock.