Zoe bread face refers to an internet meme featuring TikTok star Zoe Laverne crying with bread taped to her face. The meme pokes fun at one of Zoe’s emotional TikTok videos by adding the absurd bread element.
Origins of the Meme
In August 2020, Zoe posted a TikTok video of herself crying about hate comments she had received. The video quickly went viral, garnering over 30 million views. Shortly after, TikTok users began editing Zoe’s crying face into memes by photoshopping random objects onto her face.
One popular early iteration involved editing slices of bread onto her tearful expression. The weirdness of having bread stuck haphazardly to her face highlighted the exaggerated nature of her crying video. The bread on face version inspired many similar memes and helped propel “Zoe bread face” to meme fame.
Spread Online
The bread face meme spread rapidly across TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube in late 2020. People photoshopped different types of bread and other food items onto Zoe’s crying face. Common iterations included bagels, pizza, pancakes, and toast.
Part of the meme’s appeal was the absurd juxtaposition of Zoe’s over-the-top tears paired with carbohydrate cravings. The carbohydrates added a goofy new context, transforming her sadness into laughter.
As the meme grew, many began using the “Zoe bread face” template to create relatable jokes about stress eating and seeking comfort from food. The meme also got picked up by major online publications like Buzzfeed and Pedestrian TV, further fueling its viral fame.
Zoe’s Response
Initially, Zoe seemed unhappy about the bread face meme, commenting that she felt “cyberbullied.” However, she eventually joined in on the trend and created her own TikTok video with bread on her face.
By participating in the joke, Zoe regained some control over the narrative. Her engagement with the meme helped diffuse its negativity and allowed her to capitalize on its popularity.
Lasting Impact
While the hype around “Zoe bread face” has died down, it remains one of the seminal TikTok memes of 2020. It represents a major early example of the platform’s meme culture and ability to thrust ordinary people into viral fame.
The meme also speaks to humanity’s shared experience of finding comfort in food. On a deeper level, it highlights how memes allow people to collectively process complex emotions through humor. By poking fun at Zoe’s exaggerated sorrow, the meme helps us reflect on and cope with overblown internet drama.
In conclusion, while seemingly silly on the surface, the “Zoe bread face” meme reveals the power of internet culture to turn online events into deeply shared experiences. It packages human emotion into a bite-sized visual joke spreading joy person to person across the digital world.
