About

Son 😭😭😭😭😭 refers to a catchphrase, as well as a series of image macros and reaction images, that show characters or people with a text caption reading, "Son," followed by a string of "Loudly Crying Face" Emojis (😭). The images and the catchphrase were meant to convey being light-heartedly disappointed by someone or something and "crying," as in laughing, about it. It's used similarly to the slang "bruh" to convey "are you serious?" In captions, Son 😭😭😭😭😭 was written with I'm Crine in many instances.

The original "Son" meme was a photo of actor Anthony Mackie smirking that had been edited to show Mackie as a fatter version of himself. The image spread as a reaction and exploitable meme in late 2025, predominantly in TikTok comment sections. Popular Son meme variants of the image include the Charlie Kirk Son 😭😭😭😭😭 meme, a Kirkified version of the image, and the so-called "Son Baby" meme, which used the AI Baby Holding Laugh, also known as the Niche Baby, meme.

Numerous Son meme variants continued to be made by users throughout 2026 as the meme was continually transformed, with people replacing different words or making wordplay jokes on the original and editing in different characters. The Sonion version of the meme became a particularly viral offshoot of the original in early 2026.

Origin

On September 8th, 2025, a since-deleted Redditor posted a comment on an /r/gamerecommendations^[1] subreddit post, which used an image macro of actor Anthony Mackie, with edits to his face that made him appear overweight. The caption, written in text overlay from TikTok, read, "Son😭😭😭😭😭." The image likely originates from a TikTok comment. The Redditor's post is currently the first known upload of the image online.

Spread

Also on September 8th, 2025, Redditor sprangel21 commented a low-quality, black-and-white version of the abovementioned image on an /r/GoodAssSub^[2] subreddit post.

That same day, TikToker^[4] @._flyx00 shared a video that used an IShowSpeed GIF from his "Early Stream!" livestream, which he captioned, "Son are we serious 😭😭😭😭😭," as a reaction to someone else's photo slideshow related to rapper Ken Carson. The video received over 52,700 likes in two months. Several commenters on the video wrote, "Son," with long strings of 😭 Emojis.

Heading into September 2025, the Anthony Mackie images spread in Reddit^[3] comment sections.

During the same timeframe, use of "Son 😭😭😭😭😭" as a catchphrase spread in comment sections on TikTok^[4] related to the The Bob meme. A copypasta involving strings of 😭 emojis was used in The Bob comment sections, roughly reading:

the bob😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭I'm crine😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭neph think he no da bob😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭crine😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭bro😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

In the following months, several variations of the original "Son" meme surfaced in TikTok comment sections. Their original creators mostly remain at large due to the obscure nature of TikTok comment sections and a lack of watermarks on the images.

Several of the "Son" memes can be found in the comment section of a video from TikToker^[5] @grungalz, shared on October 13th, 2025, which reposted the MartinSugar2K Intro with "Son😭😭😭😭✌️✌️✌️," written in the text overlay caption. The video received over 45,900 likes in a month.

"Son" memes found in the abovementioned video's comment section include one featuring the Costco Guys (A.J. and Big Justice) and several iterations using an image of Charlie Kirk praying.

In November 2025, a "Son 😭" meme featuring the AI Baby Holding Laugh image surfaced on TikTok, like in the comment section of TikToker^[6] @darizzler199's video, shared on November 17th. A watermark in the bottom-right seemingly says, "Created by dj jyo."

Son Meme Variants

Following the Son meme's popularization in late 2025 and early 2026, numerous variants of it emerged online as users created new versions with different word combinations or wordplay jokes.

For instance, the Sonion meme, which depicts the Anthony Mackie Smirk meme combined with an onion, garnered notable virality as an offshoot of the meme, with other variations such as "Capri-Son" riffing on the original.

Additional examples include Son memes that replace the character with famous actors, pop culture characters or other artwork.

On May 10th, 2026, TikToker @tvt_angel posted a video showing off several variants of the Son meme, garnering over 41,100 views, 3,800 likes and 540 comments in 24 hours.

Various Examples

Related Memes

Charlie Kirk Son😭😭😭😭😭

Charlie Kirk Son refers to an image macro using a Kirkified version of an Anthony Mackie's Smirk meme, with a TikTok text overlay caption reading, "Son😭😭😭😭😭," with several "Loudly Crying Face" Emojis. The image initially trended in TikTok comment sections as a reaction image amid the Kirkification of memes in October and November 2025, in which late political pundit and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's face was swapped onto memes after his assassination a month prior. As it spread in late 2025, the Charlie Kirk "Son" Meme became more commonly used than the original Anthony Mackie "Son😭😭😭😭😭" image across Twitter / X and Instagram, among other sites.

Sonion

Sonion, also known as Sonion Ring or Son Onion Meme, is a reaction image and exploitable derivative of the original Son 😭 meme from late 2025, altering the image of actor Anthony Mackie smirking to give him the likeness of an onion with his face protruding from the plant and keeping the string of "Loudly Crying Face" Emojis (😭). The image began spreading on various social media platforms in early 2026, later becoming a catchphrase associated with an adjacent meme featuring Tom Tucker from Family Guy.

Search Interest

External References