Human Kindness Moment

2022Reaction image / quote meme / video clipsemi-active

Also known as: Waymond Kindness Speech · "Be Kind" EEAO Meme · Waymond's Plea

Human Kindness Moment is a 2022 reaction meme from *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, featuring Waymond Wang urging people to choose kindness, especially when facing existential chaos and uncertainty.

"Human Kindness Moment" is a reaction meme and quote format taken from the 2022 film *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, specifically the scene where Waymond Wang (played by Ke Huy Quan) delivers an emotional plea for kindness in the face of existential chaos. The scene, in which Waymond asks everyone to stop fighting and "be kind, especially when we don't know what's going on," spread across Twitter, Tumblr, and TikTok as screencaps, quote graphics, and video clips starting in spring 2022. It became a go-to reaction for countering cynicism and nihilism online.

everything everywhere all at once memesmovie quote memesreaction memeswholesome memesa24 memes

Overview

The Human Kindness Moment meme draws from one of the emotional peaks of *Everything Everywhere All at Once*. In the scene, Waymond Wang stands in front of IRS agents, multiverse fighters, and his own estranged family, and delivers a quiet monologue about choosing kindness when nothing makes sense. The speech hits because it arrives after nearly two hours of absurdist chaos, interdimensional combat, and existential dread. Waymond, who has been portrayed as passive and overlooked for most of the film, suddenly becomes its moral center.

Online, the meme takes several forms: screencaps of Ke Huy Quan mid-speech with the quote overlaid, video clips of the full monologue, and text-only quote posts. The core use is as a sincere reaction, not ironic. People share it when they want to push back against doomer nihilism, respond to bad news with empathy, or just remind their followers that kindness still matters.

The scene originates from *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as "the Daniels"). The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2022, then entered limited U.S. theatrical release on March 25 before A24 gave it a wide release on April 81. Production ran from January to March 20201.

In the film's climax, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is on the verge of surrendering to nihilism after experiencing every universe at once. Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu) has shown her that nothing matters. Just as Evelyn is about to enter the Everything Bagel and accept oblivion, she pauses to listen to Waymond's plea for everyone to stop fighting and practice kindness, "even when life is senseless"1. This moment triggers Evelyn's turn toward empathy, and she uses her multiverse powers to bring happiness to those around her instead of destruction1.

Ke Huy Quan's performance in this scene, raw and restrained at the same time, made the moment land hard with audiences. The speech began circulating on social media almost immediately after the film's wider release in April 2022.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter, Tumblr (viral spread following theatrical release)
Key People
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Ke Huy Quan
Date
2022

The scene originates from *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as "the Daniels"). The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2022, then entered limited U.S. theatrical release on March 25 before A24 gave it a wide release on April 8. Production ran from January to March 2020.

In the film's climax, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is on the verge of surrendering to nihilism after experiencing every universe at once. Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu) has shown her that nothing matters. Just as Evelyn is about to enter the Everything Bagel and accept oblivion, she pauses to listen to Waymond's plea for everyone to stop fighting and practice kindness, "even when life is senseless". This moment triggers Evelyn's turn toward empathy, and she uses her multiverse powers to bring happiness to those around her instead of destruction.

Ke Huy Quan's performance in this scene, raw and restrained at the same time, made the moment land hard with audiences. The speech began circulating on social media almost immediately after the film's wider release in April 2022.

How It Spread

The meme gained traction in two waves. The first came during the film's theatrical run in spring and summer 2022, when film Twitter and Tumblr users started posting screencaps of Waymond's speech with the quote text overlaid. The scene resonated especially on Tumblr, where users paired it with posts about burnout, mental health, and online toxicity.

The second, bigger wave arrived during awards season. *Everything Everywhere All at Once* swept the 95th Academy Awards in March 2023, winning seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, and Best Director for Kwan and Scheinert. The film also won two Golden Globe Awards, five Critics' Choice Awards, a BAFTA, and a record four SAG Awards. Each win brought new rounds of the Waymond kindness speech back into social feeds.

Ke Huy Quan's own story amplified the meme's emotional weight. His Oscar win marked a comeback after years away from Hollywood, and clips of his tearful acceptance speech were often paired with the Waymond kindness scene. On TikTok, users created edits combining the in-film speech with Quan's real-life awards moments.

The meme also found a home in reply threads as a counter to doomer posting. When someone posted nihilistic takes or "nothing matters" sentiments, others would reply with the Waymond screencap as a rebuttal. This "kindness vs. nihilism" framing mirrored the film's own thematic arc, where the movie explores existentialism, nihilism, and absurdism before landing on empathy as the answer.

Platforms

YouTubeTwitterReddit

Timeline

2023-01-15

First appears

2023-06-01

Goes viral

2024-01-01

Continues in use

2025-01-01

Human Kindness Moment is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The Human Kindness Moment meme typically works in a few ways:

1

Direct quote share — Post a screencap of Waymond mid-speech with the quote overlaid. Used sincerely as a reminder to be kind, often in response to bad news cycles or online fights.

2

Reply format — When someone posts a nihilistic take ("nothing matters," "why bother"), reply with the Waymond screencap or a paraphrased version of the speech. The implied message: kindness still matters even if you're right that everything is chaotic.

3

Video clip — Share the actual scene from the film, sometimes edited with music or paired with other emotional movie moments. Common on TikTok and Twitter.

4

Quote graphic — Text-only posts of the speech, sometimes attributed, sometimes not. These circulate on Instagram stories and Tumblr.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The scene's viral spread helped cement *Everything Everywhere All at Once* as a cultural touchstone beyond typical film discourse. The movie grossed $143 million worldwide against a budget of $14–25 million, making it one of A24's biggest commercial hits. But the kindness speech meme arguably did more for the film's cultural footprint than its box office numbers.

The meme became a shorthand in online spaces for a specific philosophical position: absurdist humanism, the idea that you can acknowledge life's meaninglessness while still choosing to be good to people. This made it popular in mental health communities, therapy-adjacent social media accounts, and among educators who used the scene to discuss existentialist philosophy.

The film's exploration of themes like neurodivergence, depression, generational trauma, and Asian American identity gave the kindness speech extra layers. It wasn't just a generic "be nice" message. Coming from a character who'd been underestimated his entire life, speaking to a wife who'd dismissed his gentleness as weakness, the meme carried weight that a greeting card platitude wouldn't.

Fun Facts

The film's soundtrack features collaborations with Mitski, David Byrne, André 3000, and Randy Newman, among others.

Kwan and Scheinert began developing the project in 2010, a full twelve years before its release.

The film was inspired partly by the video game *Everything* and the children's book *Sylvester and the Magic Pebble*.

Ke Huy Quan's role as Waymond was his first major film part in decades. He'd been largely absent from Hollywood since childhood roles in *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom* and *The Goonies*.

The "Everything Bagel" that Jobu creates in the film forms a toroid singularity, a black hole shaped like a bagel.

Derivatives & Variations

Nihilism vs. Kindness edits

— Split-screen or two-panel memes placing Jobu Tupaki's "nothing matters" alongside Waymond's kindness speech, framing the film's central tension as a meme format[1].

Awards night mashups

— Edits combining Ke Huy Quan's Oscar acceptance speech with the in-film Waymond speech, blurring the line between actor and character[1].

"Be kind" reaction macro

— A simplified version using just the Waymond screencap with "be kind" text, deployed as a quick reply image in the same vein as other reaction memes.

Googly eyes kindness edits

— References to the film's recurring googly eye motif, paired with the kindness message[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

References (1)

  1. 1
    Everything Everywhere All at Onceencyclopedia

Human Kindness Moment

2022Reaction image / quote meme / video clipsemi-active

Also known as: Waymond Kindness Speech · "Be Kind" EEAO Meme · Waymond's Plea

Human Kindness Moment is a 2022 reaction meme from *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, featuring Waymond Wang urging people to choose kindness, especially when facing existential chaos and uncertainty.

"Human Kindness Moment" is a reaction meme and quote format taken from the 2022 film *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, specifically the scene where Waymond Wang (played by Ke Huy Quan) delivers an emotional plea for kindness in the face of existential chaos. The scene, in which Waymond asks everyone to stop fighting and "be kind, especially when we don't know what's going on," spread across Twitter, Tumblr, and TikTok as screencaps, quote graphics, and video clips starting in spring 2022. It became a go-to reaction for countering cynicism and nihilism online.

everything everywhere all at once memes movie quote memes reaction memes wholesome memes a24 memes

Overview

The Human Kindness Moment meme draws from one of the emotional peaks of *Everything Everywhere All at Once*. In the scene, Waymond Wang stands in front of IRS agents, multiverse fighters, and his own estranged family, and delivers a quiet monologue about choosing kindness when nothing makes sense. The speech hits because it arrives after nearly two hours of absurdist chaos, interdimensional combat, and existential dread. Waymond, who has been portrayed as passive and overlooked for most of the film, suddenly becomes its moral center.

Online, the meme takes several forms: screencaps of Ke Huy Quan mid-speech with the quote overlaid, video clips of the full monologue, and text-only quote posts. The core use is as a sincere reaction, not ironic. People share it when they want to push back against doomer nihilism, respond to bad news with empathy, or just remind their followers that kindness still matters.

The scene originates from *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as "the Daniels"). The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2022, then entered limited U.S. theatrical release on March 25 before A24 gave it a wide release on April 8. Production ran from January to March 2020.

In the film's climax, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is on the verge of surrendering to nihilism after experiencing every universe at once. Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu) has shown her that nothing matters. Just as Evelyn is about to enter the Everything Bagel and accept oblivion, she pauses to listen to Waymond's plea for everyone to stop fighting and practice kindness, "even when life is senseless". This moment triggers Evelyn's turn toward empathy, and she uses her multiverse powers to bring happiness to those around her instead of destruction.

Ke Huy Quan's performance in this scene, raw and restrained at the same time, made the moment land hard with audiences. The speech began circulating on social media almost immediately after the film's wider release in April 2022.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter, Tumblr (viral spread following theatrical release)
Key People
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Ke Huy Quan
Date
2022

The scene originates from *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as "the Daniels"). The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2022, then entered limited U.S. theatrical release on March 25 before A24 gave it a wide release on April 8. Production ran from January to March 2020.

In the film's climax, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is on the verge of surrendering to nihilism after experiencing every universe at once. Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu) has shown her that nothing matters. Just as Evelyn is about to enter the Everything Bagel and accept oblivion, she pauses to listen to Waymond's plea for everyone to stop fighting and practice kindness, "even when life is senseless". This moment triggers Evelyn's turn toward empathy, and she uses her multiverse powers to bring happiness to those around her instead of destruction.

Ke Huy Quan's performance in this scene, raw and restrained at the same time, made the moment land hard with audiences. The speech began circulating on social media almost immediately after the film's wider release in April 2022.

How It Spread

The meme gained traction in two waves. The first came during the film's theatrical run in spring and summer 2022, when film Twitter and Tumblr users started posting screencaps of Waymond's speech with the quote text overlaid. The scene resonated especially on Tumblr, where users paired it with posts about burnout, mental health, and online toxicity.

The second, bigger wave arrived during awards season. *Everything Everywhere All at Once* swept the 95th Academy Awards in March 2023, winning seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, and Best Director for Kwan and Scheinert. The film also won two Golden Globe Awards, five Critics' Choice Awards, a BAFTA, and a record four SAG Awards. Each win brought new rounds of the Waymond kindness speech back into social feeds.

Ke Huy Quan's own story amplified the meme's emotional weight. His Oscar win marked a comeback after years away from Hollywood, and clips of his tearful acceptance speech were often paired with the Waymond kindness scene. On TikTok, users created edits combining the in-film speech with Quan's real-life awards moments.

The meme also found a home in reply threads as a counter to doomer posting. When someone posted nihilistic takes or "nothing matters" sentiments, others would reply with the Waymond screencap as a rebuttal. This "kindness vs. nihilism" framing mirrored the film's own thematic arc, where the movie explores existentialism, nihilism, and absurdism before landing on empathy as the answer.

Platforms

YouTubeTwitterReddit

Timeline

2023-01-15

First appears

2023-06-01

Goes viral

2024-01-01

Continues in use

2025-01-01

Human Kindness Moment is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The Human Kindness Moment meme typically works in a few ways:

1

Direct quote share — Post a screencap of Waymond mid-speech with the quote overlaid. Used sincerely as a reminder to be kind, often in response to bad news cycles or online fights.

2

Reply format — When someone posts a nihilistic take ("nothing matters," "why bother"), reply with the Waymond screencap or a paraphrased version of the speech. The implied message: kindness still matters even if you're right that everything is chaotic.

3

Video clip — Share the actual scene from the film, sometimes edited with music or paired with other emotional movie moments. Common on TikTok and Twitter.

4

Quote graphic — Text-only posts of the speech, sometimes attributed, sometimes not. These circulate on Instagram stories and Tumblr.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The scene's viral spread helped cement *Everything Everywhere All at Once* as a cultural touchstone beyond typical film discourse. The movie grossed $143 million worldwide against a budget of $14–25 million, making it one of A24's biggest commercial hits. But the kindness speech meme arguably did more for the film's cultural footprint than its box office numbers.

The meme became a shorthand in online spaces for a specific philosophical position: absurdist humanism, the idea that you can acknowledge life's meaninglessness while still choosing to be good to people. This made it popular in mental health communities, therapy-adjacent social media accounts, and among educators who used the scene to discuss existentialist philosophy.

The film's exploration of themes like neurodivergence, depression, generational trauma, and Asian American identity gave the kindness speech extra layers. It wasn't just a generic "be nice" message. Coming from a character who'd been underestimated his entire life, speaking to a wife who'd dismissed his gentleness as weakness, the meme carried weight that a greeting card platitude wouldn't.

Fun Facts

The film's soundtrack features collaborations with Mitski, David Byrne, André 3000, and Randy Newman, among others.

Kwan and Scheinert began developing the project in 2010, a full twelve years before its release.

The film was inspired partly by the video game *Everything* and the children's book *Sylvester and the Magic Pebble*.

Ke Huy Quan's role as Waymond was his first major film part in decades. He'd been largely absent from Hollywood since childhood roles in *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom* and *The Goonies*.

The "Everything Bagel" that Jobu creates in the film forms a toroid singularity, a black hole shaped like a bagel.

Derivatives & Variations

Nihilism vs. Kindness edits

— Split-screen or two-panel memes placing Jobu Tupaki's "nothing matters" alongside Waymond's kindness speech, framing the film's central tension as a meme format[1].

Awards night mashups

— Edits combining Ke Huy Quan's Oscar acceptance speech with the in-film Waymond speech, blurring the line between actor and character[1].

"Be kind" reaction macro

— A simplified version using just the Waymond screencap with "be kind" text, deployed as a quick reply image in the same vein as other reaction memes.

Googly eyes kindness edits

— References to the film's recurring googly eye motif, paired with the kindness message[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

References (1)

  1. 1
    Everything Everywhere All at Onceencyclopedia