About

David Cross Stare or The Look White People Give is a reaction image used in a series of memes depicting a headshot of actor David Cross seemingly taken around the filming of 2007's Alvin and the Chipmunks in which he played the character Ian Hawke. Some of the most viral versions of the meme, which was popularized in January 2025, portray David Cross as a typical white person. Others use his stare to portray a blank, annoyed reaction to a request, such as a retail or service industry worker.

Origin

It is unclear where the exact headshot of David Cross is sourced from, although it appears to have been taken around 2007 when he appeared in the film Alvin and the Chipmunks in his portrayal of the character Ian Hawke.

On January 15th, 2025, X / Twitter^[1] user @indianloonie posted the David Cross headshot under the caption, "The look white people give when you insult Nardwuar," garnering over 152,000 likes and 5,200 reposts in three weeks.

Spread

The meme garnered viral spread over the following weeks, inspiring new variations. On January 16th, 2025, Instagram^[2] user throwingfits posted an image macro using the caption, "The look white people give you when you doubt Ralph is the goat," garnering over 4,000 likes in three weeks.

On January 17th, Instagram^[3] user music.shitposting reposted the original version of the meme, garnering over 22,000 likes in the same span of time.

On January 20th, 2025, Instagram^[4] user wieeener posted a version of the meme reading, "How male teachers look at you when you interrupt their flirting with teenagers to ask a question about the assignment," garnering over 9,300 likes in two weeks.

On February 3rd, X^[5] user @roryofffilm posted a version of the meme about the director of the Terrifier movies, reading, "damien leone when people try to force politics onto his content/media about torturing and maiming women," garnering over 1,000 likes in two days.

On February 5th, 2025, X^[6] user @AmeenHus posted a version of the meme reading, "Post office employees when you ask them to do anything," garnering over 37,000 likes in under a day.

Various Examples

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Search Interest

External References