Disappointed Black Guy — Two-panel image of a young Black man smiling on the left and looking disappointed on the right

Disappointed Black Guy

2011reaction image macroclassic

Published November 4, 2026

Disappointed Black Guy is a four-panel reaction image featuring two selfies Tumblr user tediferous posted on December 28, 2011, where he shifts from excited anticipation to disappointment after a new message contains a racial slur. Later remixers grew the pair into a template for expectation-versus-reality jokes, and the original earned over 120,000 notes within a decade. By August 2019, Redditors were running the format for gags about Dublin and Sonic the Hedgehog, with one r/dankmemes post topping 51,000 upvotes in 24 hours.

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Overview

Each Disappointed Black Guy post follows a four-image grid: panel one shows a cropped teaser of what the subject is looking at, panel two shows tediferous grinning in anticipation, panel three reveals the wider context that ruins the gag, and panel four shows his face falling flat3.

Variations lean on bait-and-switch humor. In 2015, MemeCenter user yayayaya cropped Sonic the Hedgehog's rear end into panel one, with the full character revealed in panel three5. Three years later, @hexxem tweeted a version riffing on Irish geography with a Dublin joke that worked the same two-step reveal4.

Captions usually stay minimal since the images do the setup-punchline work. Some posts skip text entirely, letting the panel-three reveal and tediferous's expressions deliver the gag.

Origin & Background

Platform
Tumblr
Creator
tediferous
Date
2011

Tumblr user tediferous uploaded the original selfies on December 28, 2011, showing himself excited to open a new message and then shocked when it contained a racial slur1. Within a decade, the post gathered over 120,000 notes1.

The initial upload featured only the two selfies. Later remixers inserted a cropped teaser and a full-context reveal between them, which turned the pair into the four-panel template that circulated on Facebook, Twitter and Reddit in the years that followed3.

How It Spread

A Disappointed Black Guy Facebook fan page launched on October 4, 2012, collecting more than 1,000 likes3.

In 2015, MemeCenter user yayayaya uploaded a four-panel variation where the setup cropped Sonic the Hedgehog's rear end, revealed in panel three as the full character. The post drew over 800 likes on the site5. Three years later, on August 12, 2018, @hexxem tweeted a Dublin, Ireland joke using the template, earning more than 1,000 likes and 200 retweets within a year4.

Reddit user kayneshaw posted a variation to r/dankmemes on August 15, 2019, titled 'those fuckers played me.' It drew over 51,000 upvotes with 97% positive ratings and 195 comments within 24 hours2.

Timeline

2011-12-28

Tumblr user tediferous uploads the original pair of selfies showing excitement then disappointment after reading a racial slur.

2012-10-04

A Facebook fan page for the meme launches, later collecting over 1,000 likes.

2015

MemeCenter user yayayaya posts a Sonic the Hedgehog bait-and-switch variation that draws over 800 likes.

2018-08-12

@hexxem tweets a Dublin-themed version that earns more than 1,000 likes and 200 retweets in one year.

2019-08-15

Reddit user kayneshaw posts a four-panel variation in r/dankmemes that tops 51,000 upvotes in 24 hours.

How to Use This Meme

Creators typically place a misleading close-up in panel one, the grinning tediferous selfie in panel two, the wider reveal in panel three, and the disappointed tediferous selfie in panel four. Captions are optional, with many posts letting the images carry the full gag.

Frequently Asked Questions