#7 viral moments of 2017

With 2017 drawing to a close, we revisit some trending moments that caught everyone’s fancy and became global talking points. Here’s catching up on the year that was.

#CAT PERSON 

Cat Person is the fictional short story that went viral on social media, and women simply could not stop sharing and talking about it. Published by The New Yorker, it struck a chord with millennials, especially women who identified with it. Told from a third person narrative, it is about an uncomfortable romance between a man and a woman and how it eventually ends up.

All the shares made it a talking point and reportedly won its author Kristen Roupenian a $1 million two-book deal, including a novel.

#METOO CAMPAIGN

Allegations of sexual assault and harassment against producer Harvey Weinstein turned out to be a watershed moment when the hashtag #MeToo went viral. Actor Alyssa Milano encouraged those who had been sexually assaulted or harassed to respond to her tweet with the phrase ‘me too,’ giving victims a chance to tell their story. While the allegations against Weinstein kept piling on, the movement got stronger. However, it first began when activist Tarana Burke coined the phrase to empower young women of colour who were sexually abused.

#MeToo became a platform not only to express the hurt and humiliation, but also a way of offering support. Understanding how the #MeToo campaign influenced news, Time magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year is “The Silence Breakers,” those who came forward with their stories about being victims of sexual harassment.

#COVFEFE

US President Donald Trump had the world guessing what Covfefe meant when he sent out a now-deleted tweet from his personal account that read, “Despite the negative press covfefe.” Many were convinced Trump meant coverage. The tweet was deleted after many hours, but by then netizens had gone into meme overdrive, with some poking fun at the typo and trying to use covfefe in different sentences and situations. Talk show host Stephen Colbert even got Andy Serkis, who voiced Gollum in Lord of the Rings to do a dramatic reading, the actor was more than happy to oblige, reading Trump’s tweet as Gollum would have. That was a ‘precious’ moment. 

MOONLIGHT WINNING AN OSCAR OVER LA LA LAND

Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announced La La Land as the winner of the Best Picture. But soon realised that something was not right. Even as the cast of La La Land were in the middle of their Thank you speech, they got to know that it was not them but Moonlight that had walked away with the Oscar for Best Picture. Actor Ryan Gosling could not hold back his mirth over the envelope mix-up. Eventually, La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz announced the real winner being Moonlight. This gave meme makers another reason to go into overdrive as the internet was flooded with memes of Horowitz holding up the correct Best Picture winner card.

#MICHELLE OBAMA’S EXPRESSION AT DONALD TRUMP’S KEY ADDRESS

It all started when the former First Lady had an awkward meeting with the Trumps. In the words of comedian Trevor Noah, “Mrs Obama’s face was the barometer for most of America’s feelings.” Her expressions won the internet as she listened to the new President’s key address but looked far from impressed.

#BBC DAD

Robert E Kelly’s Skype interview with BBC went viral and earned him the moniker ‘BBC Dad’. Kelly was discussing the impeachment of South Korea’s President when his four-year-old daughter, Marion, wandered into his office before Kelly pushed her back in the direction of the door. But that was only the beginning, with his eight-month-old son James making an appearance in his walker followed by his wife Kim Jung-A, who collected both of them while Kelly went about his interview. The family became a viral sensation soon after with Kelly speaking up about the unintentionally viral funny moment.

#BEYONCE’S TWIN PREGNANCY NEWS

She is called Queen Bey for a reason. Her followers simply could not get enough of her twin pregnancy news. Beyonce chose to make the announcement with a bare baby bump decked with flowers. The picture got more than 7.2 million likes in less than 20 hours, breaking the net and ending up with the record of having the most number of likes in such a short span of time. Her February announcement was followed by the birth of her twins, who were introduced to the world on their one-month birthday in July with another stunning visual.