About

#Cooked Monkey With Lion Behind It is a reaction image of a monkey staring forward as a lion approaches it from behind, revealed by the flash. The caption "#cooked" is often displayed on the image. The image of the monkey was first posted to the funnymonkylol Instagram page in May 2025, where it gained over 700,000 likes. It inspired memes over the following months, the "#cooked" caption being added in June. In August 2025, a version of the meme captioned "Been making a lot of $12 transactions lately" went viral on X / Twitter, further spreading the meme. On X, the meme is generally used as a reaction image as a way of telling people they are cooked. The image used in the meme is likely AI-generated, although it is unconfirmed.

Origin

On May 20th, 2025, Instagram^[1] user funnymonkylol posted an image of a monkey that appears to be taking a selfie staring forward while a lion, illuminated by the flash, approaches from behind, garnering over 700,000 likes in three months. The image is likely AI-generated.

Spread

The image of the monkey and lion spread over the following weeks. For example, on May 21st, 2025, Instagram^[2] user monkykosss reposted it, garnering over 109,000 likes in three months.

On May 22nd, Facebook^[3] page Laughlifegoals posted the image with the caption, "it’s so scary when your exact type wants you," garnering over 5,900 reactions and 640 shares in three months.

That same day, Instagram^[4] user male reposted the image with the same caption, garnering over 48,000 likes in three months.

On June 1st, 2025, Instagram^[5] user thewriters.feeling reposted a meme purportedly by Instagram^[6] user robii.meme in which the caption "#cooked" has been placed over the image, garnering over 19,000 likes in two months.

On August 22nd, X^[7] user @hyeyunie posted the "cooked" version of the meme under the caption, "Been making a lot of $12 transactions lately," garnering over 367,000 likes and 23,000 reposts in four days. The meaning of the joke has been debated, with some believing it relates to OnlyFans subscriptions and others believing it refers to $12 seeming like a cheap or reasonable price for many things, but it quickly adds up.

The meme was reposted numerous times, including by Instagram^[8] user monkey.posting on August 23rd, 2025, garnering over 11,000 likes in three days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References