Do you remember Pepe the King Prawn from your childhood? Just recently, it has become a viral meme. People on TikTok have been combining the shocked Muppets character with captions describing their most wild, embarrassing, and traumatic experiences. If that’s not enough, the memes are accompanied by a slowed-down version of Like a Prayer by Madonna. This Internet trend is finishing off this year with a bang, encouraging people to let go of their traumas and enter the new year without extra baggage.
Bored Panda rounded up the best Pepe the King Prawn trend stories in the list below. Scroll down to find them, and don’t forget to upvote the ones that you can’t believe are real. If you’re feeling daring, you can also share some of your most embarrassing or traumatic stories below. Let’s all welcome the new year fresher and lighter!
#1
One day, I was at church and service had ended so everyone was standing around talking. I heard something speaking in a robotic voice behind me. I was in a silly goofy mood and I yelled "what is this, an alien invasion?!"
It was in fact, not an alien invasion. it was a 90-year-old man with throat cancer. He had a voice box.
Please make it stop. I think of this literally every night before I go to bed, and sometimes on my lunch break at work. I cannot escape it. God forgive me.
Image credits: ella_arena
#2
I asked a guy buying flowers at a Safeway “uh oh what did you do wrong?!” He was getting flowers to put on his wife’s grave.
Image credits: ElderMillenialLady
#3
When someone came up to me on the subway and asked if I liked the book I was reading and I told them "No, it's the most self-indulgent, overwritten drivel I've read in a while. The main character is so unlikable I keep praying a meteor falls on her or something just so this book can end". When the person asking was in fact the author and had based the character on herself.
Image credits: loulouorange
Pepe the King Prawn (full name Pepino Rodrigo Serrano Gonzales) first appeared in the Muppets in 1996, winning fan’s hearts with his snarky wit and heavy Spanish accent. Every time he would be called a shrimp, he would take offense and respond, "I am not a shrimp! I am a king prawn, okay?
His expressive face and blank stare, similar to a thousand-yard stare, made him a perfect candidate for a relatable meme format.
#4
After I soaked my hair in oil, I saran wrapped my head. I went down to the garage to get a drink out of our garage fridge. I put way too much oil. It dripped everywhere. The path became an oil slick.
Suddenly, one of our cats jumped out, frightened me, and I went FLYING on the oil. I slammed into the door and passed out. I woke up in complete darkness. (The lights were on a timer.) I panicked. I didn't know where I was. My phone was dead. I tried to stand. My legs were completely asleep AND I was covered in oil.
I tried to run the door, I slammed into many things, knocking them over, making tons of noise, screaming. I finally got to the house door. I opened it and set off the house alarm. (My family had gone to bed and set it.) I tried to type in the right code. (I didn't because I was so confused.) I make my way as fast as I can to my room.
As soon as I get upstairs, the FULL burglar alarm starts blasting. I had never heard it before. My Dad jumps out in front of me, only in his underwear, wielding a titanium baseball bat. We both scream. He's pissed. He turns off the alarm. I go to my room lay down a towel. Lay down my Saran wrapped head for slumber.
15 minutes later, I hear noises coming from the door below my bedroom. I look out the window. 3 men in all black with flashlights. Trying to pick the lock. I HAVE to wake up Dad AGAIN. WE'RE BEING ROBBED. Turns out it was the police checking out the alarm trigger. They were already in the neighborhood due to a waterline break. My Dad is PISSED.
By this time, I have to be up in an hour. I don't sleep. I listen to the winter storm outside. My head soaks in the oil. When it's time to wake up, I run to the bathroom to rinse the oil out of my hair. Because of the waterline break, there's no water. I go to school with a Saran wrapped head.
Image credits: meganchacalos
#5
When I noticed a little kid lying on the ground and moving his limbs like he was having a tantrum so I said "aww, looks like someone needs a nap" and his dad said "Nope, Cerebral Palsy". That will haunt me til the day I die.
Image credits: clairee1998
#6
I said congratulations to a couple cause the doctor said the ultrasound looked good. They were there to make sure the miscarriage didn't cause any permanent damage.
Image credits: Menlo Parker
All that was missing for it to go viral was a person who would bring people’s attention to it. That person was TikToker caitycline21, who kicked off the trend on November 30 by posting a series of memes with Pepe and his blank, shocked stare. Her first post was captioned, “Sometimes I’m late because I’m spending too much time like this.”
This TikTok currently has 174k views and is known as the original Pepe the King Prawn meme. But it was her third post with the caption “The face I make when I’m trying to maintain great customer service while getting screamed at” that went viral, garnering 4 million views in 10 days. Others promptly joined in, making it, as some claim, the best internet trend of the year.
#7
It was 2017. I was at the peak of my mental illness and was severely depressed/anxious. Somehow I'd gotten a job as a kids' party entertainer. This was the middle of Aussie summer and my boss had sent me off to do a job by myself.
I was booked to do an hour of face painting then pretend to leave and come back dressed as Peppa Pig so I could take some photos and dance to a song. First half went great .. all the kids were sweet I said goodbye and went to my car to get the costume and a CD player she's given me. I put on this budget shein looking Peppa Pig costume and when I put the head on I realised I couldn't see a thing.
I walk back in and within 5 steps I completely bodied some toddler being held by his grandpa coz he wanted to say hi .. they both fall to the ground baby starts crying. I go to apologize before realising I have no idea if Peppa Pig talks or what she sounds like because I did zero research. So I'm just walking around this party making random high pitched "ohhh" "weee" noises. I'm catching glimpses through my mesh nose holes of all these kids looking up at me super confused and scared.
All the kids are running away from me and crying so I'm just making noises walking to the area I'm supposed to dance in. I go to turn on the song but I can't see the cd player and I have these massive gloves on. So instead of the first track I've hit track 4 and started dancing .. this insane techno remix to the Peppa Pig theme starts playing. I have no idea how to dance around children so I'm just flailing my arms around wildly in the middle of this party completely alone and all these kids are just staring up at me terrified.
Some of the parents try to get them to dance (doesn't work) but it's just dead silent besides this song and me still making weird high pitch "ooohh" noises because wtf else am I supposed to do. This remix seems to go for like 8 minutes it just doesn't end and it's 40 degrees so I'm dripping in sweat..and kids are screaming at this point. It FINALLY finishes and the parents realise I'm starting to pass out so they have to lead me out of the house while the entire party are crying and staring at me.
As I'm walking out I catch my reflection in the window. When I yeeted the old guy and the baby it pushed a huge dent in the side of this giant felt Peppa Pig head. so the whole time these kids were looking at some weird deformed elephant-man version of this beloved character making deranged pig noises..Not one person asked for a photo. But I just know somewhere, footage of this moment exist..
Image credits: wwwwwhhyy
#8
One time I really really didn't wanna go to school. So I told my mom I was hurting REALLY bad so she would let me stay home. She asks about my symptoms and I make something up on the spot. She proceeds to tell me to get in the car and that we were going to the hospital because she 100% sure appendix burst.
Knowing I lied I was freaking out in the car and was scared I was gonna get in trouble for lying. After getting tests done in the hospital I decided to tell my mom I lied about not feeling good she was so upset at me that she said "u better HOPE something's wrong with u". The doctor comes in and tells my mom "you might wanna sit down". He tells my mom that I have a tumor. He says it has teeth, hair, and can have EYEBALLS. Hospital trip well spent.
Image credits: heloveskadence
#9
Said to my coworker “someone’s sad today!” Their dad just died.
Image credits: Lilo
Some examples are on the more tame side, like “When someone starts explaining the rules to a card game I’ve never played before” and “My face when I daze out during a meeting and someone says my name,” while others are more intense, like “The girl was in the year for a year and when she got out, she said she is going to come after me,” and “My face when I pull the sock of diabetic patient and their pinky toe goes flying across the room.”
#10
One time a customer was talking to me and I didn’t hear what he said so I just laughed it off, and he repeated that his dog died of cancer.
Image credits: A.Rodriguez22
#11
When my stepdad's dad died we all went to his parents' house after the funeral. I heard this really weird noise and said LOUDLY “was that a dog!??” It was not a dog it was his mom upstairs wailing.
Image credits: Emily
#12
One time, I complained non stop while watching a movie at the theater bc I though it was so bad ... the director was seating behind me the whole time.
Image credits: kodalineto
The trend doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, as users continue to share their embarrassing stories and rack up millions of views. At the time of writing, the hashtag #pepethekingprawn has 22.1K posts, with one of the most popular remaining to be the original author’s.
#13
My husband’s boss, in a meeting, asked a coworker what razor he used to get such a close shave on his head. He has alopecia.
Image credits: _JBx2
#14
One time at work I told a couple they would have to park their kid’s stroller outside and they looked me dead in the eyes and said “It’s his wheelchair”.
Image credits: lily
#15
I had just started a job and one of my coworkers had a newer kind of hearing aid that looked like an air pod and I asked her what music she was listening to and she told me “unfortunately, you talking” and I genuinely considered quitting that day out of embarrassment.
Image credits: ???? ?????
Looking at this popular trend, there seems to be no limit to what people share online. This is especially true for young people. “In the past, we used to think about our online lives and our offline lives as being two separate things. Whereas for young people, it’s just their life,” says mental health expert Dr. Louise La Sala to VICE.
#16
I did the groceries for a homeless person and after I asked if he needed help carrying the bags home.
Image credits: Aphrodifi@k
#17
I still think about that time in college when I coughed a little too hard and some kid ran up behind me and performed the heimlich on me. When he set me down everyone started clapping so I couldn't tell him I wasn't really choking so I thanked him and shook his hand instead.
Image credits: mamalannna
#18
My husband and I were shopping at the grocery store, looking at produce. I let out a silent raunchy fart. I turned to my left & told my husband "I farted" with the biggest grin on my face. My husband was actually on my right side. And I was staring at a black man holding a lemon with the most confused expression. My husband is a pale white man...
Young people might feel enticed to share traumatic experiences online because it can validate the experiences they have. “From that perspective, posting on social media can be a very helpful part of a young person’s mental health journey,” says Sala.
However, they are treading thin ice, as any information can be misconstrued or minimized. “I think if you see something that’s unsafe, or you see something that might be potentially distressing to others, when you like, or share, that content you’re teaching the algorithms that other young people might want to see more content like that.”
#19
Went with my friend to visit her dad in the hospital after he had a heart attack. A bird hit the window and startled us. I said “Whew that almost gave me a heart attack!”
Image credits: lills_mo
#20
This is like the time at work where I stated I was so hungry I could eat my arm off, meanwhile my coworker had only one arm. He stated "that's what I did" keep in mind this is my first day there lmao.
Image credits: Yellieisaunicorn
#21
I told a patient in a wheelchair to take a seat and he looked down at his wheelchair and said, “Done.”
Image credits: tinytakoyaki
#22
My dad walked backwards into who he thought was my mom at target and farted on her, except that it wasn’t my mom at all, it was some poor random lady.
That’s why it’s better to think through what the person is sharing online rather than freely spill their beans to strangers online. “If you’re going to include something that other people might find distressing, use a content warning and give people a heads up, let them know that this content is going to include information about XYZ,” Sala advises.
#23
I was once in Primark and said to my sister “can you hear a cow?” Turned round and there was a kid in a wheelchair.
Image credits: Emma
#24
When I was a little kid I saw a boy who I thought was hiding his arm in his sweater so I said to him where’s your arm and he didn’t have one.
Image credits: Caitlin Samaranayake
In a previous interview for Bored Panda, clinical psychologist Dr. Nakieta Lankster additionally recommended turning to offline connections and nurturing them. Being creative can also help. “Make art, garden, sing a song (even if you couldn't carry a note in a bucket), take what's inside of you and put it in this world. There are so many ways to release emotion, to lay your soul bare on your own terms and safely.”
#25
One time a little girl fell asleep on her dad’s shoulder at the table I was serving. I said “tired thing huh?” And dad goes “no epilepsy”.
Image credits: Bungeegumi
#26
Dude I worked as a cashier and this guy said he was buying groceries for his son and I said "wow and what’s he doing while you're here". He said ”dying of cancer”. I can never forget that experience.
Image credits: Thatonetock
#27
I congratulated a woman in line at Disney World on her pregnancy and she informed me she was NOT pregnant.
Image credits: MAC
#28
My face when I was taking a chest xray of a patient with long lungs so I told him I needed to take two due to the length and he asked what that means and I said he has lungs of steel and could run a marathon. Both of his legs had been amputated.
Please help I think about this often. It's been a couple years now, I have literally never said that to anyone prior and it makes no sense anyway...we both just stared at each other.
Image credits: cassidyhurley_
#29
I had a patient who had priapism. I said, “Sorry you’re having such a hard day.” I walked out of that room so fast.
#30
A homeless person asked me for money and at the time I just bought a house. My excuse for everything was sorry I don’t have money I just bought a house.
#31
I was a house cleaner and was hired by a woman to clean her place (which was gorgeous) when I walked in I said “I’d give my right arm to live here” her husband had one arm…. His left arm.
Image credits: MisfitMissy
#32
I helped a homeless man and bought him 2 days of food and drinks and he said “tysm!” And I said out of habit “get home safe!” And he said “I don’t have a home” and I felt like a monster.
Image credits: ??????
#33
I was telling my sister-in-law something funny, so I said "you’re gonna die laughing when you hear this", I choked on air at the laughing part. So all she heard was "you’re gonna die". She had cancer.
Image credits: Payne
#34
I once meant to ask a patient at my EYE CLINIC to take off their glasses but I was looking at their shirt when I said it so instead I said “take off your SHIRT”.
#35
Me when I was helping my patient get dressed and asked if she wanted a bra. She said "no I don't have any b**bs" and I said "yeah me neither" She responded "you're a cancer survivor too!?!?"
#36
In elementary school a teacher told me I had pretty eyes and I said “thanks, they’re bedroom eyes” because I’d always been told they look sleepy. I didn’t find out what that meant till high school
#37
The time I went to the zoo with my mum and we were looking at the alpacas and they were making a funny noise that we started to repeat back to it quite loudly. Turning around to see a disabled man in his wheelchair making the noise and his carer standing next to him looking at us.
#38
One time I commented “you used to be a chubster huh?” on a friend’s post thinking it was her as a kid, but it was in fact a post about an orphan needing financial aid for her health.
#39
That time my uterus decided to shed its entire lining at one time and I thought it was a miscarriage so I put it in a plastic bag and brought it to the ER with me. The MALE FIRST YEAR ER nurse holding the plastic bag with my uterine lining in it staring at me like this.
#40
I accidentally said “chill daddy” to my DISTRICT MANAGER.
Image credits: Heather
#41
I asked my neighbor if she had enjoyed her blue slushie & then watched as her bf got arrested for DV the next day, realizing those were bruises by her mouth, not slushie. 8yrs later & still guilty af.
#42
A guy told me he was a vet and I said omg I love animals but I couldn’t because I couldn’t put them down. He was a veteran.
#43
When I was in 2nd grade I was jealous my sister had glasses so I pretended that I couldn't see so I could get glasses too. During the appt I just kept lying saying it was blurry and then not blurry and the dr could not figure out what was wrong with me.
He then referred us to a specialist 3 hours away and it was at this lady's own house with all of these different colored lenses to try. I was so deep into my lie I had no idea what to do so I just picked one and ended up having sepia colored lense glasses. I literally never wore them and my parents still don't know I was lying to this day. A few years ago my mom brought it up and was like remember when you had to go to that weird eye specialist that was crazy. Yea that was crazy haha
#44
I had a patient that has just had his foot amputated and the other foot only had one toe left. I said “well at least you’ve only got one toe nail to clip”. He said they took the toe nail off too.
#45
I told a student I would call his mom, and he responded "she's dead."
#46
One time I was talking to a man on a dating app who wrote in his profile that he was deaf and one of the first questions I asked him is what kind of music he listens to.
#47
I met a boy during the first week of university and fell in love instantly. We dated for 2 months... then broke up. I was heartbroken. But we stayed friends. And 2.5 years later, we got back together. I was ecstatic.
A week later we went to one of his friend's 21st birthday parties. It was my first time seeing his friend group in 2.5 years, and I was nervous. I drank. A lot. I don't remember how I got home.
Next morning, I'm in his bed. I look over smiling and go in for a cuddle. He, just staring at me, asks, "Do you remember what you did last night?" "No?" "You peed on my carpet" "Ha, no I didn't" "Yes, you did. Go smell the rug." I laughed, thinking he was joking.
Then I peeked over the bed... and saw a wet rug and a pile of towels. He tells me I had woken up at 3am, walked to the end of the bed, squatted down, and peed on the carpet. While he watched in shock yelling my name. He proceeds to tell me I had shook, climbed back into bed, and fallen back asleep. All while he sat there in disbelief and proceeded to clean up my mess for 40 minutes.
I sit in shock, hearing his mom upstairs making breakfast, and wonder... how is he going to explain the piss-scented rug to his family? This boy is going to dump me. AGAIN. I need to get out of this house. I get in my car, break down in tears. I can't call anyone because I'd have to admit what I did. Hours later, no word from him. I am absolutely distraught.
Then he calls... He blamed it on the dog. I'm in the clear. His family thinks I'm normal. We got married 2 months ago, 8 years after the incident. I haven't peed anywhere other than a toilet since that night.
#48
My third day of college, I decide to bring my longboard to campus and skate from class to class so that I can get around quickly. I stop at the dining hall and get mac and cheese and broccoli to go. I get on my longboard and start cruising through the main quad.
It is Seattle. it is always raining. The giant brick square I have to cross is getting slippery. but surely I can make it! I attempt to push off and immediately slip and fall, kicking my longboard at least 100 feet away. My tote bag falls off my shoulder. All of my school supplies are dirty and wet. I smash the back of my head on the ground and throw my container of food 10-15 feet into the air as I fall. The cardboard container opens midair and rains mac and cheese and broccoli all over me.
It is passing period and there are 40,000 students at my school. Hundreds of my fellow scholars have witnessed this. People are asking me if I'm okay. A really hot boy is chasing down my longboard. I'm not badly hurt but I'm so embarrassed. I start laughing hysterically until I can't breathe. As I hyperventilate, the sky above me darkens...a MURDER OF CROWS DESCENDS UPON ME AND BEGINS EATING THE MAC AND CHEESE AND BROCCOLI. One lands on my HEAD.
I am now wet, crying, hysterical, covered in food, and being attacked by dozens of crows. People are audibly gasping. I cut my losses and pick up my tote bag and literally run away. Someone gives me my longboard back and I sprint back to my dorm, while recording a voice memo to send to my new group chat of college friends. My friends find this hilarious and refer to the incident as "crow gate".
For my birthday, they put the voice memo over a trap beat and blast it in the car. A few times I meet mutual friends and they already know about me because they've heard the voice memo.
#49
Once I started seeing a therapist and spent the first several sessions ranting about my terrible manager. On the 4th session I noticed a photo behind her desk, my manager was her daughter.
#50
My freshman year I decided to take chemistry because i wanted to be a vet (I am horrible at chemistry). I study so hard. The guy on my floor who was a chem major taught me. My professor gave me 1-on-1 tutoring.
After hours of studying, the first midterm approached. I put on a hockey game to relax 4 hours before the midterm, which was at 7 pm. Somehow I fall asleep. I wake up at 7 o clock on the dot. The midterm is starting. My dorm is a 15 minute walk to the midterm. I start crying. I RUN out the door and proceed to run all the way to the exam.
I had just watched the episode of shameless where they didn't let lip take the midterm because he was late, so I thought they would fail me. I bust into the exam room, sweating and crying. My gsi who barely spoke english is looking at me completely bewildered. I'm begging to take the test.
He's like yeah whatever sit down. I do not got this. I continue to cry through the whole test. Nothing makes sense. I can't understand any of it. When I get out of the exam, it's pitch black and the campus is empty. I'm one of the last to leave. I'm too scared to walk home.
I call my one friend who has a car. She doesn't pick up. As a last resort, I call a guy who lives in my dorm building who I know has a car. I'm sobbing and asking him to come pick me up. He's bewildered but says okay. He pulls up and I stand outside his car sobbing and apologizing. He tells me to get into the car. I cry the whole way back to our dorms. The whole way. He looks so uncomfortable but I can't stop crying. I feel horrible for making him come get me. We were not very close. I start apologizing and check my phone.
It's 11 PM on VALENTINE'S DAY. I start crying harder (shocker) and ask if I took him away from plans. He assures me it's okay. He drops me off. I leave him cupcakes to say thank you the next day and elect to avoid him out of pure and utter embarrassment. He becomes our school's qb. I cannot escape him. When I sit down for the next exam, a girl says she's so nervous. The girl next to her says "don't be nervous. I heard a girl got a 32% on the first one." It was me. I got a 32.
#51
As a kid I thought “that turns me on” meant like that interests me.. so I'd use it whenever I liked an idea..
#52
I walked into a bookstore once and told my friend that a book cover being displayed was bad. Right through the front door was the author, doing a signing.
#53
Me at work after accidentally saying "slay" to a grown a*s professional that makes 5x my salary.
#54
I called my boss a passenger princess bc she told me she hates driving herself and I forgot she’s like 45 so she was just like “I’ve never heard of that but I like it”.
#55
One time my brother was working at a sporting goods store and he asked a man if he “needed a hand” and then slowly found out that the man was indeed, missing an arm.
#56
Mom was driving us home, I was 13-14. Seen the scene of a crash. “Damn someone was in a hurry”. Got told at home that it was my uncle and he did in fact pass away.
#57
That one time I started going out with a guy and realized I was actually in love. I then wrote him cutesy love letter declaring my love and how excited I am for the future.
We go out to eat at longhorn steakhouse for Valentine's Day....We sit in the car afterwards. I give him the letter. Tears start to form in his eyes. My heart is racing. I see sweat beginning to form on his forehead. It's dead silent. I don't know what to think or how he will react... he abruptly gets out of the car. He closes the car door. I begin to wonder how bad my writing skills are and if I should have waited longer to give him the letter.
Then I hear the sound of vomiting from outside. This man proceeds to vomit for the next fifteen minutes. He takes a break in between throwing up to come to the window. He tells me how touching the letter is, then voms again. At last it's over. He gets in the car...We go to leave the steakhouse and get medicine. The car proceeds to jolt up in the air as we run over his projected steak and meal on the ground. He tells me he loves me and how we have to get married now. Bro literally threw up when I told him I loved him.
#58
In a toxic relationship, crying every day but i also love him sm so i start seeing a therapist. Therapist and i talk for months and months, exclusively about him, always him, only him. one day i realize she's heard so much about him and doesn't even know what he looks like. that's crazy bruh. i look for the best picture i have of him (it takes a min) and then i turn my phone to show her thru the laptop camera.
She looks. then immediately turns her head so i will not see her face... she collects herself she turns back around she looks me dead in the eyes she says.. "are you being serious right now? this is what he looks like? this is the man you've been crying over for a year?" me realizing my man's so ugly i just made my therapist break the fourth wall.
#59
HAHAHA when I was working in PT I put a lady on heat for her shoulder. When I took her off I asked her if it got too hot and she told me she couldn’t feel anything due to her recent mastectomy.
#60
I was little and my brother, me, my parents, and grandparents all went to a state park to see manatees. While there I see an older man who was standing with his back toward me and he was holding a bag of cotton candy. This man looked just like my grandfather from behind and figured he got the cotton candy for my brother and I. I ran up to him so excited saying "grandpa! you got my cotton candy!!" he turns around and the man who's not my grandfather says "I'm not your grandpa, but you can have some if you like" I was MORTIFIED and still am to this day.
#61
When one of my students ordered Chic fil A for lunch but went home sick so I ate it. Then the office called and said her mom came back to school to get it to take it home for her.
#62
One day I decided to make a fake account to troll the people I hated. I kept texting them their secrets and I was starting beef and I watched them beg me to stop. I kept doing it for 3 weeks cause I thought it was funny then I apologize and told them I won't do anything.
They were trying to find out who was running the account and I kept ignoring their texts. When I come back to school we have a anti cyber bullying assembly and the principal told everyone about the account and said to come forward before they find out who it was. I got so scared so I told my best friend everything and one of the girls I was trolling heard me so she told everyone that I trolled and the principal.
The cops came and asked me for my side of the story and I kept lying while crying and I blamed it on the girl that heard me. Everyone that I trolled started to defend me because they said I was too nice to do that and they started blaming it on the girl cause they never liked her. The girl started crying and the cops called her parents and the parents of the kids that I trolled and the other parents said they weren't going to press charges on the girl. Her parents were so mad at her and told everyone that she had a history of doing crazy things then sent her to a mental hospital out of the state. The girl was in the mental hospital for a year and when she got out she said she is going to come after me.
