10 Years Later, Harambe Won't Die: The History Of The Famous Gorilla And His Memes

Ten years ago today, May 28, 2016, a 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe was shot at the Cincinnati Zoo. One day after his birthday. He had no idea he was about to become the most famous gorilla in internet history. Here's how a tragedy became a tribute, became "dicks out for Harambe," became 11,000 write-in votes for president, became a $99,000 Cheeto, became the inflection point fans still cite as the exact moment our timeline broke. Ten years on, he's the meme that won't die. ▶ FRANKIE FEY YouTube:    / @frankiefey   Instagram:   / frankie.fey   TikTok:   / frankie.fey   X / Twitter: https://x.com/frankiefey More episodes with Frankie are on the way. Subscribe to our channel    / @knowyourmeme   0:00 Intro 0:56 Why was the shot justified? 1:44 A gloomy year picks a martyr 2:50 What actually happened that day 3:48 Mourning becomes memes 5:00 Dicks Out For Harambe 5:58 Meme Heaven 6:54 The Zoo Director loses it 8:18 UMass declares it a microaggression 9:14 Harambe runs for president 10:00 The $99,000 Cheeto 10:36 The 2019 whistleblower revival 12:06 Elon Musk drops a song 12:50 A decade later, still here 13:30 The 2016 timeline split 15:20 Why he still matters Sources & further reading: Know Your Meme: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/haramb... Cincinnati Zoo: "Honoring Harambe": https://cincinnatizoo.org/honoring-ha... BBC: A particularly gloomy year for celebrity deaths: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-383... Snopes Harambe tag: https://www.snopes.com/tag/harambe/ The Wall Street Harambe statue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambe...) @WhiteHouse, May 27, 2026: https://x.com/whitehouse/status/20597... #harambe #harambememe #knowyourmeme