# Idris Elba Choking On Hot Wings > Idris Elba Choking On Hot Wings is a 2019 reaction meme from YouTube's Hot Ones, featuring the actor violently coughing after eating an extremely spicy wing, paired with captions about awkward situations. Idris Elba Choking on Hot Wings is a reaction meme from August 2019, born from the actor's appearance on the YouTube interview series *Hot Ones*. After Elba coughed violently while eating a particularly spicy wing, Twitter users clipped the moment and paired it with captions about awkward dinners, uncomfortable conversations, and questionable food. The clip blew up across social media within days, turning one of Hollywood's most composed leading men into the internet's go-to image for losing your cool at the table. ## Origin On August 1, 2019, Idris Elba sat down with host Sean Evans for an episode of *Hot Ones*, the First We Feast YouTube series where celebrities answer questions while eating progressively spicier chicken wings[5]. The episode was part of Elba's press tour for *Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw*[3]. Elba came in confident, mentioning that he'd been eating spicy food since age four, prepared by his West African mother[3]. That confidence didn't last. Partway through the lineup, a wing hit him hard enough to trigger a coughing fit that became internet gold[2]. The full episode racked up over 5.5 million views on YouTube[5]. - **Platform:** YouTube (*Hot Ones* / First We Feast), Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Sean Evans (host / interviewer), Idris Elba (subject) - **Date:** 2019 ## Overview The meme centers on a short video clip of British actor Idris Elba coughing, sputtering, and visibly struggling after biting into an extremely hot chicken wing during his *Hot Ones* interview. In the clip, Elba exclaims "What the fuck! Oh shit!" before composing himself and, in a move that only added to the clip's charm, licking his fingers afterward[2]. The format works as a reaction video: users post the clip alongside a caption describing a scenario where someone is blindsided or put in an uncomfortable spot, usually at a meal or during a conversation. What makes the meme work is the contrast. Elba is widely known as one of the smoothest, most unflappable actors in Hollywood. Seeing him completely lose it over a chicken wing gave people a perfect visual shorthand for "that moment when you can't keep it together." ## How It Spread About a week after the episode aired, Twitter users started isolating the choking clip and pairing it with their own captions[5]. One of the earliest popular posts came from @uglynewyork on August 9, 2019, with the caption "How meal preppers really be by day 5." It picked up over 4,600 retweets and 14,000 likes[5]. The meme hit peak velocity between August 12 and 13[5]. The biggest single post came from @rayaldn, pulling in over 33,000 retweets and 109,000 likes[5]. The jokes fell into a few reliable categories. Awkward relationship moments were the most popular lane: "When the dinner date is going great and he drop 'so you talking to anyone else?'" wrote Twitter user @mikasa[2]. "When you're enjoying your date and she asks about your girlfriend" was another popular variation[4]. Bible jokes also took off. Twitter user @_lessismaur posted "During the meal Jesus said, 'I tell you, one of you will betray me' Judas:" alongside the clip, scoring major engagement[2]. Others used it for bad food scenarios: "When you eat the food of a woman who doesn't have wobbly triceps" and "Eating your first school lunch when Michelle Obama took over in 2008"[3]. The meme wave drew coverage from Complex[1], the Daily Dot[2], BuzzFeed[4], Blavity[3], BET[6], and High Snobiety within days of the peak[5]. ## How to Use The format is straightforward. Find or download the clip of Elba choking on the wing, then write a caption above it that sets up a scenario where someone is caught off guard, usually at a dinner or in a conversation. The humor comes from the gap between how composed you're supposed to be and how wrecked Elba looks. Common setups include: - Awkward relationship conversations that come out of nowhere during a meal - Eating food that tastes terrible but you can't say anything - Biblical or historical dinner betrayals - Trying someone's cooking and immediately regretting it The meta version also works: posting the clip as a reaction to the meme itself going viral[1]. ## Cultural Impact The meme got big enough that Elba himself addressed it three years later. During an August 9, 2022 appearance on *The Daily Show with Trevor Noah*, Elba talked about the experience of becoming a meme[5]. Noah mentioned that his younger brother's 15-year-old friend didn't know Elba as an actor but recognized him from the Hot Wings clip[5]. Elba said he was embarrassed by it, insisting it wasn't the spice that got him: "the spit got wrong in my throat"[5]. He also noted, somewhat defensively, "I eat pepper every day"[5]. The clip's longevity speaks to how well it works as a reaction format. Unlike memes tied to a specific event or joke, Elba choking on a hot wing is infinitely reusable for any situation involving surprise, discomfort, or food gone wrong. BET called the reaction posts "one of the most memorable meme challenges in recent memory"[6], while Complex noted that "he still looked better doing it than anyone you've ever seen in your life"[1]. ## Fun Facts - Elba told Blavity's source interview that he sent a track to Jay-Z while working on the *American Gangster* soundtrack, and Jay-Z replied: "I don't like it, I f**king love it"[3]. - Despite the viral choking incident, Elba still licked his fingers after eating the wing[2]. - The *Daily Show* appearance where Elba discussed the meme happened almost exactly three years after the original episode aired, on August 9, 2022[5]. - Elba blamed saliva, not spice, for the coughing fit: "the spit got wrong in my throat"[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Idris Elba Choking on Hot Wings? It's a reaction meme based on a clip of actor Idris Elba coughing and sputtering after eating a very spicy chicken wing during his 2019 *Hot Ones* interview[5]. ### Where did Idris Elba Choking on Hot Wings come from? The clip comes from Elba's August 1, 2019 appearance on the YouTube series *Hot Ones*, hosted by Sean Evans on the First We Feast channel[5]. ### What does Idris Elba Choking on Hot Wings mean? The clip is used to represent moments of being caught off guard, especially during meals or awkward conversations. The humor comes from seeing a famously cool actor completely lose his composure[1]. ### How do you use Idris Elba Choking on Hot Wings? Post the video clip with a caption describing an uncomfortable or surprising scenario, typically involving dinner, bad food, or an awkward question dropped mid-meal[2]. ### Is Idris Elba Choking on Hot Wings still popular? The meme peaked in August 2019 but still gets pulled out for dinner-related reaction posts. Elba's 2022 *Daily Show* appearance discussing the meme gave it a second wave of attention[5]. ### How many views did the original Hot Ones episode get? The full episode on YouTube gained over 5.5 million views[5]. ### What did Idris Elba say about becoming a meme? On *The Daily Show* in August 2022, Elba said he was embarrassed and insisted the spice wasn't to blame: "the spit got wrong in my throat." He also pointed out that he eats pepper daily[5]. ### Which tweet about the meme was the most popular? A post by @rayaldn earned over 33,000 retweets and 109,000 likes, making it one of the biggest individual posts using the format[5]. ### What movie was Idris Elba promoting on Hot Ones? He was promoting *Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw*, which co-starred Dwayne Johnson[3]. ### What types of jokes were most common with this meme? The three main categories were awkward relationship dinner conversations, bad food reactions, and biblical Last Supper jokes[1][2]. ## References 1. [I Could Watch Idris Elba Choke on a Hot Wing for the Rest of my Life]() 2. [Idris Elba Choking on Spicy Wings Is Now a Meme About Our Most Awkward Moments]() 3. [I Could Watch Idris Elba Choke on a Hot Wing for the Rest of my Life]() 4. [Idris Elba Choking on Hot Wings - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Apparently, Idris Elba Choking On Hot Wings Is Exactly What Good Memes Are Made Of - Blavity]() 6. [Idris Elba Choking On Spicy Chicken Wings Has Become A Pretty Cheeky Meme]() 7. [Idris Elba Choking On Hot Wings Is The Newest Meme To Sweep The Internet | News | BET]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/idris-elba-choking-on-hot-wings Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library