# Fat Axl Rose
Fat Axl Rose is a 2010 image macro series built around unflattering concert photos of Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, captioned with rewritten GNR lyrics about food and weight. It got a second life in 2016 when Rose's DMCA takedown attempts triggered a textbook Streisand Effect.
## Overview
Fat Axl Rose is an image macro series built around photographs of Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose looking notably heavier during a January 2010 concert in Winnipeg, Canada[2]. The pictures, shot by Winnipeg Free Press photographer Boris Minkevich, show the singer mid-performance under stadium lighting, and the unflattering framing turned them into ready-made joke templates once music blogs picked them up[1].
The captions typically rewrite Guns N' Roses lyrics or song titles into food and weight jokes, with 'Knock-Knock Knocking on McDonald's Doors' being one widely shared example[4]. The format works because the source images are technically clean rock shots, so the contrast between the arena setting and the punchline is the whole gag.
## How It Spread
The joke stayed dormant for over a year and then broke out in October 2011, when Vice[5] ran a separate photo of Rose at a Rio de Janeiro show under the headline 'Axl Rose Got Fat' on October 4th. Three days later, BuzzFeed collected captioned versions in a post titled 'Fat Axl Is Fat,' and a dedicated 'Fat Axl' page went live on Quickmeme the same week[4].
On October 8, 2011, Tumblr user brian-harold-may posted the 'Knock-Knock Knocking / on McDonald's Doors' caption, which became one of the widely reposted entries in the set[4]. UpRoxx aggregated the best captions two days later, and a Meme Generator page opened in June 2012 that let users spin out their own variations[4].
The story got a second wind in June 2016, when TorrentFreak spotted DMCA takedown notices filed by reputation firm Web Sheriff on Rose's behalf, targeting six Blogspot pages hosting the Minkevich photo[1]. Reddit's r/news picked up the report and commenters immediately invoked the Streisand Effect, with follow-up coverage from Spin, CNET and Rolling Stone pushing the images back into rotation[1].
## How to Use
Common convention is to pair a well-lit stage shot of Rose from the 2010 Winnipeg or 2011 Rio shows with a Guns N' Roses lyric rewritten around McDonald's, food, or weight, typically in impact-style top-and-bottom text[4].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Fat Axl Rose?
An image macro series using Boris Minkevich's 2010 concert photos of a heavier Axl Rose, captioned with rewritten Guns N' Roses lyrics about food and weight[4].
### Where did Fat Axl Rose come from?
The photos were taken by Boris Minkevich at Rose's January 13, 2010 show in Winnipeg, and hard rock blog The Gauntlet first turned them into a fat joke on January 15, 2010[3].
### What does Fat Axl Rose mean?
The joke plays on the gap between Rose's slim 1980s rock star image and his weight gain by 2010, with captions bending GNR song titles into fast food punchlines[4].
### How do you use Fat Axl Rose?
Pair a Minkevich stage photo of Rose with a Guns N' Roses lyric rewritten around McDonald's, food, or weight, usually in classic impact-font macro layout[4].
### Is Fat Axl Rose still popular?
It saw a big revival in June 2016 after Rose sent DMCA takedown notices for the Minkevich photo, which triggered a Streisand Effect and fresh coverage from Spin, CNET and Rolling Stone[1].
## References
1. [https://torrentfreak.com/axl-rose-sends-dmca-notices-to-google-targeting-fat-photo-160605/]()
2. [https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/music/Guns-N-Roses-show-a-massive-rock-n-roll-spectacle-81474192.html]()
3. [https://www.thegauntlet.com/article/172/17692/OMFG-Axl-Rose-is-fat.html]()
4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/fat-axl-rose]()
5. [https://www.vice.com/en/article/axl-rose-got-fat/]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/fat-axl-rose
Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library