A video starring Panera’s mac and cheese cooking process causes a scandal, Kylie Jenner’s singing is the biggest meme on the internet (and she’s capitalizing on it), the PSAT is getting majorly memed, and the other viral stories you need to know this week…
Panera Mac & Cheese Earns Infamy on TikTok—for the Wrong Reasons
This week, Panera bread became TikTok famous, but they’re not happy about it. A young employee posted a video showing how the chain’s mac and cheese is prepared—by boiling a bag of the frozen dish. As Eater reports, “curiously, people are really upset about this,” and the story went majorly viral. A Twitter post of the video has almost 12 million views. The employee in question was fired (though she took it well) and the brand has defended their food prep process. But a look at the #panerabread hashtag on TikTok reveals that she’s not the only one posting behind-the-scenes kitchen clips from the chain.
Kylie Jenner’s Rise & Shine Is the Internet’s New Anthem
Wondering why you’re seeing “Rise and Shine” all over social media? You can thank Kylie Jenner, the star of this week’s biggest meme. A little background: It all started when a video of Jenner giving a tour of the Kylie Cosmetics headquarters was released, and included a scene in which the young mom wakes up her daughter Stormi by, you guessed it, singing “Rise and shine.” But the way that she sang the line really struck a chord with the internet. A clip by @sainthoax showing Jenner singing the line as a contestant on The Voice has almost 7 million views, and it’s just one of a huge collection of content featuring the “Rise and shine” moment. Ariana Grande herself posted a video singing the line and asking to sample it in future music. Of course, Jenner isn’t letting the opportunity pass her by: she’s already selling “Rise and shine” merchandise on her site.
PSAT Memes Are Banned, But Tell That To Teens
It’s that time of year again! The PSATs are here, and The College Board has renewed their fight against content about the test ending up online…but they can’t stop the memes. Mashable reports that despite threats that the scores of those caught posting memes about the test will be cancelled, jokes about the PSATs are still spreading on social media. Ironically, The College Board used a meme to tell teens not to meme the test, and many of the memes circulating are actually making fun of the board for their efforts.
Lady Gaga Doesn’t Know About Fortnite, To the Shock of Gamers Everywhere
On Tuesday, Lady Gaga shot off what she probably thought was an innocent question: “What’s Fortnite.” And the singer went viral for her lack of gaming (or pop culture) know-how. Perhaps Gaga heard about the game’s massively viral black hole stunt? Of course, it didn’t help that the biggest Fortnite star, Ninja, directly replied to Gaga’s tweet, quoting her songs. Her response? Another tweet asking “who are you.” The exchange sparked rumors of an internet feud, and yes, resulted in a lot of memes.
Links We’re Passing
This sneaker is the new dress, there’s a new faceswapping app making the rounds, a 12-year-old food reviewer is gaining fame, Jennifer Aniston joined Instagram, posted Friends nostalgia, and broke a follower record, and here’s the history of the Spooky Scary Skeleton song that’s all over TikTok.
