Super Bowl 52 Halftime performer, singer-actor Justin Timberlake, takes a selfie with 13-year-old Ryan McKenna. That selfie became viral and eventually became a meme. Image: Screengrab from Youtube/Pepsi page
This kid may not have been the one who brought sexy back, but he did score the selfie of a lifetime with Justin Timberlake, while the star was performing at the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday night (Monday morning in Manila).
Viewers could not get enough of this boy while the Grammy Award-winner was wowing audiences in his almost 14-minute performance, singing his greatest hits. The kid not only stole the show but also netizens’ hearts.
“I just thought to myself, ‘I’ll never get this opportunity again in my whole life,'” the kid, 13-year-old Ryan McKenna, told Twin Cities Pioneer Press on Monday.
McKenna, now known on the internet as the “Selfie Kid,” did not expect the attention he would get just by taking a selfie with one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
“My phone is almost dead,” McKenna said in the interview. “I’ve gotten so many notifications. I’ve got like 36 Snapchats, like 21 DMs, and like 150 follower requests on Instagram.”
But McKenna not only got famous for taking a selfie, he has also reached internet stardom as a meme.
Netizens could not help but think of funny scenarios as to what McKenna was really doing while holding his phone. One Twitter meme had the kid portrayed to be googling who Timberlake was.
— Jamie McCarty (@JamieMcCarty) February 5, 2018
Twitter user @mwhiteside3 was so happy that he got to see a meme created right before his eyes.
Finally in my life; I got to watch a meme get created right in front of my eyes… #SelfieKid pic.twitter.com/oiAfFRaKz7
— Matt Whiteside (@mwhiteside3) February 5, 2018
In another meme, McKenna was depicted nostalgic and instead chose to watch the 2016 halftime performer Beyoncé over Timberlake.
— Alp Ozcelik (@alplicable) February 5, 2018
A netizen tried to outdo everyone by thinking of not one but four scenarios on what McKenna might be doing on his phone during the performance.
#SelfieKid I LOVE THE INTERNET 😂 pic.twitter.com/B99aUX5Tt2
— disha. (@harrymoonchild) February 5, 2018
Still caught in disbelief, McKenna said it was “already crazy to be in the Super Bowl in the first place.”
But one of the most hilarious takes on the phenomenon may have come from ESPN host Matt Schick who wrote on his Twitter page, “After the selfie, Justin Timberlake was dead to him.” Katrina Hallare/JB
After the selfie, Justin Timberlake was dead to him. pic.twitter.com/GFllAoyNoz
— Matt Schick (@ESPN_Schick) February 5, 2018
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