Adam Levine has now become a meme

“It’s the perfect combination of celebrity identification – seeing a person with such a neat image writing embarrassing things to express a feeling we all have in life – and the absurdity of it all.“says Amanda Brennan, head of trends at marketing agency Xx Artists. Don Caldwell, director of the site Know Your Memeagrees with Brennan’s analysis: “It is like [i messaggi di Levine, ndr] were written by a teenager, which makes them perfectly suitable for becoming a meme“.

The “loot“represents only one of the hidden pearls in Levine’s alleged messages. In the last few days, another two-part message from the singer has also gone viral: “It’s really unreal how sexy you are / It upsets me“(“It is truly unreal how fucking hot you are / Like it blows my mind“). When taken out of context and placed in the hands of web meme creators, what at first glance appears to be a comment on a woman’s physical appearance can become, among other things, an ode to mozzarella sticks or one reinterpretation of the fable of Goldilocksplaying on the ambivalence of the adjective hot (can be translated as both “hot” and “sexy”).

Levine’s alleged messages to Stroh function as a meme thanks to theirs universality. On the one hand, it’s easy to put ourselves in the singer’s shoes (most of us can imagine being left speechless in front of another person’s charm), while on the other their vagueness means that they can be transferred to other objects. or in other scenarios.

The fact that the story is itchy also helps: “Controversial stories make memes more compelling“explains Joe Federer, former head of brand strategy at Reddit., according to whom Levine’s Instagram messages are”already loaded with meaning“.

Useful distraction

The idea of ​​meddling in the fantasies of one of the world’s best-known musicians is as questionable as it is understandable. Furthermore, people like to get celebrities off the pedestalespecially in contexts like this, when their problems can seem even more insignificant.

“People already hate Maroon 5 – Turvy points out – they are like the nickelbacks of hipster bar soft rock. Adam Levine is an extremely famous musician for a lifetime. At one point he was also referred to as the sexiest man in the world by People“.

The scandal and the possibility of making Levine the target of online arrows, then, also represents a welcome tonic that can help to face the terrible news reported by the media.

“In recent years, much of our world has been confronted with such a high stakes that it can be a relief to joke about a light topic without too many repercussions“Brennan explains. Or rather, without too many repercussions for those who create the memes. Levine, meanwhile, is subjected to the modern equivalent of the pillory.

This article originally appeared on Wired UK.