Meme · prank
The 'rickroll' Meme, Explained
Peaking now
“This trend is making my trust issues rise,”
via popcrush.com
By the numbers
GenZHype Trend Engine · YouTube reach + Wikipedia interestrickroll is rising right now: it scores 100/100 on the GenZHype trend index, with roughly 1.9B YouTube views, and about 1,030 Wikipedia reads a day, as of Sep 22, 2026 (GenZHype Trend Engine).
Live trend read for “rickroll”: combined YouTube reach + reading interest, scored by a Mann-Kendall trend test on the daily series, as of Sep 22, 2026. Built in-house, refreshed nightly.
See it in action
Video: Rickroll Meme Origin..., embedded from its original platform.
What the meme is
The dominant current usage among US Gen Z is as a verb meaning to mislead someone into following a seemingly innocuous hyperlink, or sometimes a QR code, that leads to a YouTube video of Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up." It can also mean tricking someone into hearing the song through indirect methods, such as a DJ suddenly playing it or a speaker casually inserting the lyrics into a speech so listeners don't immediately realize they've been rickrolled.
As a noun, a rickroll is an act of or attempt at rickrolling, e.g., "You have to check out this link. Not a rickroll." The prank works by promising exciting or interesting content, such as "World of Starcraft in-game footage!", but delivering Astley's debut single video instead. It is described as a variant on the "duckroll" and was popularized through excessive use on 4chan and certain internet gaming forums.
The term has also become a reference point for newer bait-and-switch meme formats. TikTok's "Krissed" trend, in which accounts post false celebrity news before cutting to a sped-up video of Kris Jenner lip-syncing, has been called "the new Rickroll" and "a sort of Rickroll," showing how the term functions as shorthand for any deceptive setup ending in an unexpected reveal.
Getting "Krissed" specifically involves TikTok accounts posting false information about celebrities, far-flung stories of affordable apartments in Manhattan or preposterous celebrity rumors, followed by a video of Kris Jenner dancing to a sped-up version of "Lady Marmalade." The comical video is accompanied by some variation of the phrase "You just got Krissed," and some videos urge viewers to send the content on to "#Kris" family and friends.
All of these statements are instantly called into question and outright proven to be false once viewers realize they've been "Krissed."
At its core, the Krissed trend subverts expectations, the essence of so much comedy, and brings what has been described as "obscene amounts of uncomplicated joy." It repackages the age-old playful deception that underpins all sorts of jokes, from "I've got your nose!" to "Made ya look!" to "Look, they wrote 'gullible' on the ceiling!" It is ridiculous, it is low-brow, and it possesses an ineffable hypnotic quality that attracts attention like a magnet. [1][2][3][4][5]
The receipt
Original post, embedded from Tiktok, linked and credited. Visuals on this page are shown for commentary and identification.
The receipts
Documented, dated uses of “rickroll” — each quote is verbatim from the linked source.
“some people are saying that it is the new Rickroll. Anyone who has been online in recent years is familiar with how the Rickroll works.”
“"Rickrolling" is a "bait-and-switch practice that involves providing a Web link supposedly relevant to the topic at hand, but actually re-directing the viewer to" Astley's 1987 video”
“It taps into the same type of humor that has made Rickrolling such a timeless internet gag.”
“In what seemed to be a repeat of the great "Hitler Reacts" YouTube takedown of 2010, an original version of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video used to Rickroll Web denizens was removed from YouTube on the grou…”
“I thought he had finally given me up.") But as of this posting, the Astley video, bearing the title "RickRoll'D," is very much available, and has over 61 million views.”
Every quote above passed the same verification gate this site publishes under: real source, real date, copied verbatim. See the editorial policy.
How it spread
Getting #Krissed became rather inescapable on TikTok. The trend inspired predictably hilarious reactions: one user wrote under the Millie Bobby Brown video, "This trend is making my trust issues rise." Another complained, "BRO ITS 21TH TIME TODAY," as plenty of people commented that they had fallen for multiple "Krissed" videos a day.
Someone added, "Bro I almost started crying," while others wrote, "I don't wanna get krissed anymore" and "I cannot do this anymore." One user joked, "My therapist will be hearing about this," and another even claimed that the video appeared to be "real."
Popular examples of the Krissed meme included false stories that Kendall Jenner is pregnant, that Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown announced her character's death, and a doctored Instagram screenshot making it seem like Zendaya announced a pregnancy with an ultrasound picture captioned "I love you. Halfway there" along with a tag for her boyfriend, actor Tom Holland.
Zendaya was not particularly happy about the rumor, writing on her Instagram Story, "Just making stuff up for no reason...weekly." There was even an example circulating TikTok that claimed Kris weighed in on the viral meme.
The temporary removal of the original Rickroll video from YouTube sent the meme-loving internet into a fit of apoplexy, with momentarily outraged YouTube users leaving comments. The funniest, from MrTimthos: "I was scared. I thought he had finally given me up." This incident renewed discussion of the prank and highlighted YouTube's notoriously problematic "take down first, ask questions later" process.
The bait-and-switch humor underlying rickrolling remains timeless. A tiny blip in the algorithm's spin cycle, a trend so utterly meaningless and stupid that it is hardly making waves in capital-C Culture, these videos repackage playful deception. Krissing subverts expectations and brings uncomplicated joy. So far, Kris Jenner does not appear to have commented on the trend, though one user joked that Kris would "LOVE THIS TREND."
Variants & examples
Common as both a verb ("I got rickrolled") and a noun ("that link is a rickroll"). Often used figuratively for any bait-and-switch reveal, not just ones involving the Astley video.
- “I try not to get rickrolled by sketchy YouTube links, but sometimes you let your guard down.”Warning a friend about deceptive links.
- “The DJ rickrolled the whole audience by suddenly playing Rick Astley's hit song.”Describing a live-event prank where the song was played unexpectedly.
- “She inserted the lyrics of "Never Gonna Give You Up" into her speech so casually that most listeners didn't even realize they'd been rickrolled.”Describing a subtle, indirect rickroll through steganographic lyric insertion.
- “You have to check out this link. Not a rickroll.”Reassuring someone a link is legitimate, referencing the prevalence of the prank.
- “After being rickrolled for the third time that day, Dave was dismayed to find that he had actually learned the words to the song.”Joking about repeated exposure to the prank and its unintended consequence.
- “BRO ITS 21TH TIME TODAY”A TikTok user complaining about falling for multiple Krissed videos in a single day.
- “This trend is making my trust issues rise”A user reacting to being tricked by a Krissed video about Millie Bobby Brown.
- “My therapist will be hearing about this”Someone joking about the emotional whiplash of being Krissed.
Frequently asked
What does it mean to get rickrolled?
You were tricked into clicking a link or otherwise engaging with content you thought was relevant, but it turned out to be Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video or song.
Is rickroll only used for links?
No. It can also mean tricking someone into hearing the song indirectly, for example, a DJ suddenly playing it, or someone inserting the lyrics into a speech so listeners don't realize they've been rickrolled.
How is the TikTok "Krissed" meme related to rickrolling?
"Krissed" is a bait-and-switch TikTok format where false celebrity news is followed by a sped-up Kris Jenner video. Multiple outlets have called it "the new Rickroll" or "a sort of Rickroll" because it uses the same deceptive setup.
Related memes (2)
More memes (6)
Sources (5)
- popcrush.com — Is 'Krissed' the New Rickroll? Kris Jenner TikTok Meme Explained
- nbcnews.com — News of 'Rickroll' meme death greatly exaggerated
- inverse.com — Getting #Krissed is TikTok's answer to the classic Rickroll
- en.wiktionary.org — Wiktionary: rickroll
- urbandictionary.com — Urban Dictionary: rickroll