George Takei

2011catchphraseclassic

George Takei is the Star Trek actor whose social media presence, especially his Facebook page and his signature drawn-out catchphrase "Oh Myyy," turned him into one of the earliest celebrity meme figures of the 2010s. His feed of sci-fi jokes, image macros, and LGBT advocacy posts made him a household name online well past his Sulu days.

meme celebrity memescatchphrase memesfacebook memeslgbtq memesdouble entendre memes

Overview

George Takei is the actor best known for playing Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, but online he's mostly known as the guy who runs one of the most-shared Facebook feeds of the early 2010s3. The page mixes sci-fi jokes, animal photos, LGBT rights posts, and image macros with the kind of gentle innuendo that his fans expect1. His drawn-out "Oh Myyy" became the audio signature attached to almost every double entendre he posted.

The catchphrase itself predates the meme by more than a decade. Takei first said "Oh my" in a memorable clip from the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, in a Season 2 episode that aired on September 29th, 19963. Radio host Howard Stern later sampled the line so often that it fused permanently to Takei's public voice, and by the time Takei was active on social media, fans already knew the exact tone they were reading in their heads3.

How It Spread

By 2012, Takei was being written about as the funniest person on Facebook, and BuzzFeed published a widely-read November 18th, 2012 post titled "11 Reasons George Takei is the Absolute Best"3. He also released the e-book "Oh Myyy" that same month, which openly acknowledged that some of his page content came from a group of helpers he jokingly called "George Fakei"1.

The biggest online scandal around the meme hit on June 6th, 2013, when media blogger Jim Romenesko revealed that TV writer Rick Polito had been paid roughly $10 per gag to ghostwrite jokes for Takei's Facebook page1. Fans took it hard, with journalists and social media editors publicly reacting with lines like "Say it ain't so, Sulu" and "Shattered"1. Takei answered in a Wired interview the next day, confirming that his husband Brad and a small team of interns helped keep the page fed, but insisting the voice and commentary were his own1.

A second flare-up came on August 2nd, 2013, when an image macro of a woman standing up from her wheelchair to grab a bottle, captioned about a "miracle in the alcohol isle," was posted to his Facebook and Twitter3. It picked up more than 81,000 likes and 52,000 shares in ten days but was criticized for mocking people with mobility issues, a backlash covered by The Independent and The Huffington Post on August 11th3.

How to Use This Meme

The meme is mostly used two ways. "Oh Myyy," written with extra Ys, is dropped into comments and captions as a reaction to anything mildly suggestive, in the same slot other people use "phrasing" or a smirking emoji2. Takei's name is also used as slang on Urban Dictionary as a nickname for a nap and as shorthand for someone who over-shares memes on Facebook, both plays on his very online reputation2.

Frequently Asked Questions

George Takei

2011catchphraseclassic

George Takei is the Star Trek actor whose social media presence, especially his Facebook page and his signature drawn-out catchphrase "Oh Myyy," turned him into one of the earliest celebrity meme figures of the 2010s. His feed of sci-fi jokes, image macros, and LGBT advocacy posts made him a household name online well past his Sulu days.

meme celebrity memes catchphrase memes facebook memes lgbtq memes double entendre memes

Overview

George Takei is the actor best known for playing Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, but online he's mostly known as the guy who runs one of the most-shared Facebook feeds of the early 2010s3. The page mixes sci-fi jokes, animal photos, LGBT rights posts, and image macros with the kind of gentle innuendo that his fans expect1. His drawn-out "Oh Myyy" became the audio signature attached to almost every double entendre he posted.

The catchphrase itself predates the meme by more than a decade. Takei first said "Oh my" in a memorable clip from the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, in a Season 2 episode that aired on September 29th, 19963. Radio host Howard Stern later sampled the line so often that it fused permanently to Takei's public voice, and by the time Takei was active on social media, fans already knew the exact tone they were reading in their heads3.

How It Spread

By 2012, Takei was being written about as the funniest person on Facebook, and BuzzFeed published a widely-read November 18th, 2012 post titled "11 Reasons George Takei is the Absolute Best"3. He also released the e-book "Oh Myyy" that same month, which openly acknowledged that some of his page content came from a group of helpers he jokingly called "George Fakei"1.

The biggest online scandal around the meme hit on June 6th, 2013, when media blogger Jim Romenesko revealed that TV writer Rick Polito had been paid roughly $10 per gag to ghostwrite jokes for Takei's Facebook page1. Fans took it hard, with journalists and social media editors publicly reacting with lines like "Say it ain't so, Sulu" and "Shattered"1. Takei answered in a Wired interview the next day, confirming that his husband Brad and a small team of interns helped keep the page fed, but insisting the voice and commentary were his own1.

A second flare-up came on August 2nd, 2013, when an image macro of a woman standing up from her wheelchair to grab a bottle, captioned about a "miracle in the alcohol isle," was posted to his Facebook and Twitter3. It picked up more than 81,000 likes and 52,000 shares in ten days but was criticized for mocking people with mobility issues, a backlash covered by The Independent and The Huffington Post on August 11th3.

How to Use This Meme

The meme is mostly used two ways. "Oh Myyy," written with extra Ys, is dropped into comments and captions as a reaction to anything mildly suggestive, in the same slot other people use "phrasing" or a smirking emoji2. Takei's name is also used as slang on Urban Dictionary as a nickname for a nap and as shorthand for someone who over-shares memes on Facebook, both plays on his very online reputation2.

Frequently Asked Questions