Meme lore
What is the Crying Kim Kardashian meme?
The Crying Kim Kardashian meme (also called the Kim Kardashian Ugly Cry) is a reaction image of reality TV star Kim Kardashian sobbing with a dramatically contorted face. It is most often used to mock over-the-top distress, especially when someone is upset about minor "first world problems" like the famous lost-diamond-earring scene from Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Origin & history
The crying Kim Kardashian meme originated from several emotional outbursts on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but the most viral moment aired during season 6 in 2011. While vacationing in Bora Bora with her family and then-boyfriend Kris Humphries, Kim was thrown into the ocean and discovered one of her $75,000 diamond earrings had fallen off. She panicked and sobbed on camera, fearing the uninsured jewelry was gone forever.
The clip became internet gold almost immediately, paired with captions about trivial disappointments and mocked as peak first-world-problem drama. Kourtney Kardashian's unsympathetic one-liner - "Kim, there's people that are dying" - spawned its own meme line. Kim later confirmed Kylie Jenner actually recovered the earring in the clear water, but the ugly-cry face had already cemented itself as a go-to reaction GIF for dramatizing any minor setback.
The clip became internet gold almost immediately, paired with captions about trivial disappointments and mocked as peak first-world-problem drama. Kourtney Kardashian's unsympathetic one-liner - "Kim, there's people that are dying" - spawned its own meme line. Kim later confirmed Kylie Jenner actually recovered the earring in the clear water, but the ugly-cry face had already cemented itself as a go-to reaction GIF for dramatizing any minor setback.
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