McKayla Maroney is not impressed with the meme generated by her seemingly sour face at only winning a silver medal in the vault competition at the 2012 London Olympics. At least, not too impressed.
Maroney, who also won a gold medal for the US team’s performance, was caught with a very unimpressed look as she stood on the podium to accept her silver medal. The picture quickly spread across the internet with user-generated captions following, making McKayla Maroney the most meme’d athlete at the Olympics.
Her pout on the podium inspired the viral Tumblr McKayla Is Not Impressed . Created by 28-year-old New Yorker Gavin Alaoen, the page was registered Tuesday night with three Photoshopped images of McKayla Maroney looking unimpressed. The pouting 16-year-old Maroney has since been Photoshopped everywhere from double rainbows to the surface of Mars.
The Tumblr itself has blown up, receiving 1,200 followers just a few hours after being formed.
“It’s just a two-or-three-week kind of thing,” Alaoen told The Wall Street Journal . “It’s a hot topic right now. And then it’s onto the next one.”
Some people online have claimed there is truth behind the meme, saying that McKayla Maroney is a “mean girl,” Salon reported. Her chilly demeanor and refusal to even pretend to be happy have struck many people the wrong way, as did what seemed like a snub of bronze medal winner Maria Paseka while they were on the podium.
McKayla Maroney even commented on the meme, responding either in good humor or in the true spirit of her “not impressed” persona, depending on how you interpret her tweet: “this tumblr is kinda funny, made me laugh.”
Though the insults of her personality grew online as more pictures poured in of McKayla Maroney looking angry, Salon writer Mary Elizabeth Williams points out that these are many of the same petty internet commenters who ragged on Gabby Douglas’ hair.