Where did Dr Evil Air Quotes come from?

The template started on FunnyJunk on October 3, 2012 when user niack posted an outline drawing of Dr. Evil with the caption "I call it / 'YOLO'".

What does Dr Evil Air Quotes mean?

The gesture reads as sarcastic labeling, framing whatever word appears in the quotes as fake, absurd, or overblown.

How do you use Dr Evil Air Quotes?

Pair the screencap with a two-line caption of "I call it" followed by a term in single quotes that the poster wants to mock.

Is Dr Evil Air Quotes still popular?

It is a classic 2013-era Advice Animals template. Reddit users voted to swap it for a Chris Farley version in July 2013, and the format cooled off after that.

Dr Evil Air Quotes

Q: What is Dr Evil Air Quotes?

It is an image macro using a screen capture of Mike Myers as Dr. Evil doing exaggerated air quotes in the Austin Powers films.

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Published August 19, 2026

Dr Evil Air Quotes is an image macro built on a screen capture of Mike Myers as Dr. Evil doing exaggerated air quotes in Austin Powers. The template took off on FunnyJunk in October 2012 and peaked on Reddit's /r/AdviceAnimals through 2013.

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Overview

Dr Evil Air Quotes is an image macro built on a screen capture of Mike Myers as Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers film series, most often pulled from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me1. In the frame, the character makes exaggerated air quotes while explaining part of his world-domination plan to his henchmen.

The joke usually rides on a two-line caption in the "I call it / '[term]'" format, mocking a word or concept the poster thinks is overblown or fake. The rigid finger curl and smug delivery from Mike Myers do most of the comedic work, which is why the image reads as sarcastic before the caption is even parsed5.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

FunnyJunk (fan art) / Reddit (viral spread)

Creator

FunnyJunk user niack

Date

2012

The template started as fan art, not a screencap. On October 3, 2012, FunnyJunk user niack posted an outline illustration of Dr. Evil doing air quotes with the caption "I call it / 'YOLO'"2. A follow-up FunnyJunk post on November 22, 2012 used the same setup to mock the site's own tendency to recycle original content, which helped push the format outside the film-clip niche5.

How It Spread

The photo-based version broke onto Reddit in early 2013. On January 26, redditor ThexJwubbz posted a Dr. Evil macro mocking cable news channel names, which pulled over 2,800 upvotes and 60 comments before the thread was archived4. On May 15, 2013, redditor Mooner posted to /r/AdviceAnimals with the setup "see you in the morning" after a heavy night of drinking, gathering more than 900 upvotes in three months3. On June 19, redditor britnorway used the format to mock iPhones dying at 2% battery, picking up over 400 upvotes6.

Reddit fatigue set in fast. On July 20, 2013, redditor stumblebreak posted "I vote to replace the Dr. Evil meme" featuring Chris Farley doing air quotes on Saturday Night Live, and the replacement pitch pulled 30,900 upvotes and 800 comments in the following month7. Holdouts kept posting Dr. Evil versions anyway. On July 30, redditor soapinthepeehole used it in /r/punk to mock former Misfits bassist Jerry Only touring again, hitting 390 upvotes and 65 comments8.

How to Use This Meme

Users typically pair the screencap with a two-line caption. The top line reads "I call it" and the bottom line places a familiar term in single quotes, framing it as if the poster is skeptically labeling something ordinary or overhyped5. Some versions swap that convention for any word the character himself would deliver sarcastically.