The Brief: "Who is Joe?" memes and jokes allow pranksters to yell "Joe Mama!" in response to a seemingly innocent question.
DEEP DIVE
If you’re ever talking to, say, a teenage boy, and he says something vague about someone named Joe, we advise you not to ask “who is joe?” If you do, the exchange might go something like this:
Do you know Joe?
Who’s Joe?
JOE MOMMA!!!!!!!!!!
Like the old-school “is your refrigerator running?” or “what is updog” jokes, the point of Joe Mama memes is to trick someone into saying “who is joe?” so that you can drop an unexpected “yo momma” joke on them. Joe Mama memes are the latest variation of this format, going viral after bofa, sugma, and ligma. Of course, 2019 is surely not the first time someone has made this Joe Mama joke, but it is when it became particularly prominent on Reddit.
Joe Mama Memes
On social media, Joe Mama memes digitize this joke through image macros, demonstrating how it can be used in a variety of contexts. As with many once-popular memes, the copypasta element of this one may lead to overuse and an eventual “death” of the meme.
A Wait That’s Illegal and Outstanding Move hybrid meme:
Joe won the Kahoot! game…
Absolute joe moment from memes
Oh god. Not joe from dankmemes
Actually Joe from dankmemes
But really, how is Joe? I heard he’s going through a lot… from memes
If you did end up falling for this classic blunder, and ask “who is joe,” don’t worry. You’re surely not alone and helped someone make a joke 🙃