You know the face. It’s that half-grimace, half-sob that looks like someone just told you your favorite restaurant is closing forever, or maybe you just accidentally saw your parents’ search history. It is the Chrissy Teigen meme—the "Cry Face"—and it has been living rent-free in the back of our collective internet brain for over a decade.
But here is the thing: most people think of it as just a funny accidental screenshot. It wasn't.
That single moment at the 2015 Golden Globes changed how we look at celebrities. Before that, every A-lister at an awards show looked like a polished mannequin. Chrissy? She looked like a human being experiencing a total system malfunction. It was messy. It was awkward. Honestly, it was a vibe.
The Night the Chrissy Teigen Meme Was Born
Let’s set the scene. It’s January 11, 2015. John Legend and Common are on stage at the Golden Globes. They’re accepting the award for Best Original Song for "Glory" from the movie Selma. It’s a huge, emotional moment.
The camera cuts to Chrissy Teigen in the audience.
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Instead of a soft, Hollywood-style single tear rolling down a perfectly contoured cheek, we got... the face. Her eyebrows were arched into a "V," her mouth was pulled tight in a weird rectangular shape, and she looked genuinely distressed. Within roughly five minutes, the internet had turned her into the ultimate reaction image for everything from "when the waiter brings the wrong food but you're too shy to say anything" to "when you realize Monday is tomorrow."
She didn't run from it. That’s the key.
She leaned in. Five minutes after the shot aired, she tweeted: "It's been 5 minutes and I'm a meme." That self-awareness is why the Chrissy Teigen meme stuck. She didn't have a PR team try to scrub it from the web; she posted a photo of herself and John Legend mocking the face later that night.
Why the 2016 Oscars Face Was Actually Different
A lot of people mix up the "Cry Face" with the "Stank Face." They’re different eras, people!
In 2016, Chrissy gave us a sequel. During the Academy Awards, Stacey Dash made a bizarre, ultra-cringey cameo on stage. The camera panned to Chrissy, who was making a face that looked like she’d just smelled a carton of milk that expired in 1994.
This wasn't sadness. It was pure, unadulterated "yikes."
People initially thought she was reacting to Sarah Silverman, but Chrissy clarified it was definitely for the Dash moment. This is where her brand as the "Relatable Queen" really solidified. We weren't just laughing at her; we were laughing with her because she was saying what everyone at home was thinking without uttering a single word.
The Anatomy of a Viral Reaction
Why do these specific faces work?
- Zero Composure: We spend so much time seeing filtered versions of people. Seeing a professional model look "ugly" is refreshing.
- High Utility: You can use these memes for literally any life catastrophe.
- The "Me AF" Factor: It captured the specific social anxiety of the mid-2010s.
The 2018 Emmy Awards "Hide"
By 2018, Chrissy was fully aware that the cameras were hunting for her. During the 70th Emmy Awards, she saw a camera heading her way and tried to duck out of the shot.
Predictably, she failed.
The result was a GIF of her awkwardly sinking into her seat like a turtle retreating into its shell. It became the definitive "I’m not here, don't look at me" meme. She later explained on Good Morning America that she didn't realize the cameras were live because there were no red lights on them.
"I can't believe I did it again," she told Robin Roberts.
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But by this point, the Chrissy Teigen meme machine was a self-sustaining ecosystem. Every time she sat in a chair at an event, the internet prepared their "Save As" buttons.
The Pivot from Meme to Controversy
It’s worth noting that the "relatability" of these memes eventually hit a wall. In 2021, the public's perception of Chrissy shifted dramatically.
Old tweets surfaced—many of them involving Courtney Stodden and others—that were far from the "fun, awkward best friend" persona the memes had built. The very platform that made her a meme-star (Twitter) became the place where she faced a massive "cancellation."
This creates an interesting tension. Can you still use the Chrissy Teigen meme if you don't like the person anymore?
Most of the internet says yes. Memes often outgrow the person they’re attached to. Just like the "Success Kid" isn't a baby anymore and "Hide the Pain Harold" is actually a lovely Hungarian man named András, the Chrissy memes have become a shorthand for human emotion that exists separately from her cookbook empire or her social media feuds.
Actionable Tips for Navigating Meme Culture
If you're trying to understand why certain moments go viral while others disappear, here are the takeaways:
- Authenticity is messy. If Chrissy had tried to look pretty while crying, no one would have cared. The "ugliness" of the moment is what gave it value.
- Timing is everything. Being the first to acknowledge your own viral moment (like she did in 2015) usually lets you control the narrative for a while.
- Context matters. The "Cry Face" worked because she was happy for her husband; the "Stank Face" worked because the event itself was genuinely awkward.
If you’re looking to find the perfect reaction for your next group chat meltdown, searching for the Chrissy Teigen meme will give you a library of options. Just remember that behind the "yikes" face is a decade of award show history and a very complicated lesson in celebrity branding.
To dive deeper into how these moments happen, you should watch the original 2015 Golden Globe clip of John Legend's speech. It puts the "Cry Face" in a whole new perspective when you see the genuine emotion that led to the muscle spasm seen 'round the world.