Death at the Claw Machine — Grim Reaper in dark robes operates a claw machine, lifting a tiny human figure from a crowd of people inside the glass case.

Death at the Claw Machine

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Published October 25, 2026

Spanish illustrator Nacho Diaz drew an image around 2011 showing the Grim Reaper plucking humans out of a claw machine game. Online posters repurposed it starting in 2017 as a reaction image for celebrity deaths, with Death pictured as disappointed he grabbed the wrong person. By 2023, the caption 'Is Henry Kissinger even in this thing?' had turned the format into a recurring political joke on Reddit and Twitter.

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Overview

Captions sit over Nacho Diaz's illustration, with Death expressing frustration at having grabbed the wrong person from the machine. A typical version shows the Reaper holding a recently deceased public figure while asking why he couldn't take someone the poster considers worse. Captions change based on who died that week and whom the poster wishes had died in their place3.

A particular punchline, 'Is Henry Kissinger even in this thing?', turned into the format's calling card by the early 2020s. The former United States Secretary of State was 100 years old at the time the joke took off, and posters cited his longevity whenever a less controversial public figure died first7.

Origin & Background

Platform
Naolito Art (artwork) / Imgur (viral spread)
Creator
Nacho Diaz
Date
2011

Nacho Diaz, a Spanish graphic designer and illustrator known for his Threadless shirt designs, drew the piece and first posted it on his now-defunct Naolito Art site1. The earliest extant appearance online came in a gallery of Diaz's work published by Twisted Sifter on September 18, 20111.

The artwork sat around for years before anyone used it as a celebrity death reaction. Earliest known meme: January 13, 2017, when Imgur user BruisedBananas posted a version after the death of George Michael3.

How It Spread

After the 2017 Imgur post, variants returned to timelines every time a notable celebrity died. In August 2018, following John McCain's death, Imgflip user Some_Internet_Man posted a version where Death complains about receiving McCain instead of Jake Paul, reaching over 14,000 views across five years4. Redditor woakula shared a variation to r/memes on September 18, 2020, with Death disappointed at having grabbed Ruth Bader Ginsburg instead of Betty White, collecting over 40 points5.

The Kissinger punchline turned the format into a running joke across political meme communities. On December 31, 2022, Redditor kolibrifityma used the Kissinger line on r/behindthebastards after Pope Benedict's death, drawing more than 1,800 points in eight months7. Twitter user @Gritty20202 ran a similar Kissinger version on June 8, 2023, following Pat Robertson's death, hitting more than 500 likes and 70 retweets in two and a half months6.

Henry Kissinger himself died on November 29, 2023, producing celebratory versions of the format3. Some posters joked that the meme would die alongside its favorite target. Twitter user @OrganizerMemes shared a Death and the Dog edit welcoming the format to the afterlife, drawing over 3,600 likes in one day8.

Timeline

2011-09-18

Twisted Sifter publishes a gallery of Nacho Diaz illustrations that includes the claw machine image, the earliest known online appearance.

2017-01-13

Imgur user BruisedBananas posts the earliest known use of the image as a celebrity death reaction, following the death of George Michael.

2018-08-25

John McCain dies, prompting an Imgflip version from Some_Internet_Man wishing Death had taken Jake Paul instead.

2020-09-18

Redditor woakula posts an RBG-versus-Betty-White variation to r/memes.

2022-12-31

Pope Benedict dies, and Redditor kolibrifityma uses the 'Is Henry Kissinger even in this thing?' line on r/behindthebastards.

2023-06-08

Twitter user @Gritty20202 posts a Pat Robertson version with the Kissinger punchline.

2023-11-29

Henry Kissinger dies, producing celebratory variants and farewell edits mourning the format's signature joke.

How to Use This Meme

To make a version, add a caption to the Nacho Diaz drawing where Death complains about grabbing the recently deceased celebrity instead of someone the poster finds more deserving. Common conventions include naming an elderly or widely hated figure as the preferred pick, with Henry Kissinger serving as the long-running template answer before his November 2023 death7.

Frequently Asked Questions