PIZZA RAT, NUDE SELFIES, TRUMP
Web culture awards celebrate viral trends, memes and five-word acceptance speeches
No memes were spared during Nick Offerman’s hosting stint as the star referenced “squad goals,” Pizza Rat, “Becky with the good hair” and plenty more of the past year’s viral trends.
Meet the Oscars’ quirky younger cousin. At the 2016 edition of the Webby Awards, a yearly celebration of all things Web culture, start-up founders walked the carpet alongside celebrities, supercuts of memes rolled throughout the ceremony, and every winner’s speech, as they are every year, was restricted to five words.
No memes were spared in Nick Offerman’s hosting stint for Monday night’s awards, as the Parks
and Recreation star referenced “squad goals,” Pizza Rat, “Becky with the good hair” and plenty more of the past year’s viral trends. But Offerman’s favorite target was a different kind of meme: Donald Trump, whose outlandish Internet personality has helped him become the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.
If there were Trump fans in the audience, they kept quiet as Offerman and other stars decried a Trump presidency as the end of the Internet as we know it.
Offerman also mocked Hillary Clinton for her email scandal, Ted Cruz for convincing the Internet he was the Zodiac killer and the American people at large.
In one of the night’s most memorable moments, Offerman honored David Bowie and highlighted a remarkable illustrated GIF that went viral after the singer’s death, nominated for the night’s GIF of the Year award.
Then with great disdain, he presented the GIF that actually won — of Trump’s “orange raccoon” face.
“Congratulations, America — this is your GIF of the Year,” he deadpanned as it played on loop. “Let’s hope this is the last time this raccoon is honored in a voting contest.”
Just as celebrity culture and political dramas have become one with pop culture in 2016, the Webbys’ 20th anniversary ceremony focused more on entertainment and less on tech innovations than in previous years.
The digital movers and shakers accepting awards were outnumbered by A-list talent, from actresses Jessica Alba and Krysten Ritter to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
These were the Webbys’ standout five-word speeches.
1. KIM KARDASHIAN: “NUDE SELFIES TILL I DIE.” Kardashian took home the night’s first prize with a speech that only Kim could give, winking at the many Internet firestorms she has started with her increasingly unclothed appearances. 2. ‘MAKING A MURDERER’ CO-CREATOR MOIRA DEMOS: “THE STORY IS NOT OVER.” The Netflix true-crime series won the Webby for Film & Video Breakout of the Year, and Demos’ speech hinted that Steven Avery’s saga has new chapters still to come. 3. KANYE WEST: “I CAN’T STAND SHORT SPEECHES.” Since West can’t contain his brilliance to five words, he opted out with a mea culpa. 4. #BLACKLIVESMATTER CO-FOUNDER OPAL TOMETI: “STAY TURNT, BLACK LIVES MATTER.” After Spike Lee introduced her with a Black Power fist-raise, Tometi accepted the award for Social Movement of the Year by adding a few words to the social justice movement’s slogan. 5. LENA DUNHAM AND JENNI KONNER: “IS DRAKE IN THE HOUSE?” Unfortunately, the oft-memed rapper wasn’t at the Webbys. Konner and Dunham just celebrated birthdays, and an appearance by Drake would have been the perfect present.