Reddit Pays Tribute to Robbie Rotten

The Internet can be a really cynical place, but from time to time, we can see that not all faith in humanity has yet been lost.

In the last week, the fans of the hugely popular Icelandic children's TV show LazyTown have been sending their thoughts and prayers to Stefan Karl, the 41-year-old actor who has become an internet icon for his portrayal of the show's main villain Robbie Rotten, in the light of the recent news that his cancer has reached the terminal stage IV.

First revealed by Karl's wife in a Facebook update and reported on by Icelandic news site Morgunblaðið , the news of his deteriorating health certainly affected the meme community in a unique way, particular on Reddit's /r/dankmemes, where the usual trade of edgy, ironic and borderline offensive memes has been overshadowed by earnest tributes to Robbie Rotten and the ailing actor. Today, the top post on the subreddit is a genuinely touching post in honor of Stefan Karl.

“His candle burns quickly,” his wife said in the Facebook status update posted last Wednesday, while adding that “we will not stay with it and be scared of fear. We know that time is precious as never before and we have promised to enjoy it as well as we can. Death is strange – life is nothing but magnificent!”

Since the shocking announcement of Karl's cancer diagnosis in October 2016, Karl's celebrity fame has grown exponentially, with one of his songs from the show, We Are Number One, rising to one of the most remixed memes of the year, not to mention being named the "Meme of the Year" by our own community in the annual poll. Meanwhile, some fans even went as far as to setting up a GoFundMe page to help pay the bills of his treatment, which ended up surpassing its $100,000 goal and raised $134,000.

"We Are Number One" was a tremendous meme not only because of its ripeness for parody but also for the way the meme’s life coincided with Karl’s diagnosis. While the Replacement Remixes and various other Soundclown goofs were being made in late 2016, people were actively rooting for Karl and drawing attention to his GoFundMe, giving rise to a surreally optimistic atmosphere in which it felt possible that memes could, just maybe, cure cancer. And for his part, Karl loved it, genuinely loving and thanking his ironic fanbase at every turn. When his GoFundMe page surpassed its goal in December, Karl expressed his gratitude by performing “We Are Number One” in a Facebook live stream with his cast mates and the composer of the song.

In responding to his fans' dismay, Karl posted to his Facebook page this weekend,

“Love and humility are unusual and so helpful through it all. Much I’m moved and grateful.”

But that wasn’t all /r/dankmemes did. For Karl, the subreddit created one more Robbie Rotten meme: Robbieposting. A parody of Drakeposting, the template is flooding /r/dankmemes today as users celebrate Karl, Rotten, and man behind of some of the finest memes in recent memory.

Only time will tell if the meme itself will live on and surmount to the popularity of Drakeposting, but even if it pans out to be a short-lived homage quick to fade into meme obscura, it is comforting to know there is still a place for decency and respect, even on the edgiest corners of the internet.