What is ‘krissing,’ the viral prank sweeping TikTok?

Rick Astley has become one of the key figures of internet culture thanks to his dance-pop hit, Never Gonna Give You Up and the many memes it spawned. But the English singer now has competition from Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the Kardashian clan, who has given rise to “krissing,” Generation Z’s favourite new online prank.

The Kardashian family has already given rise to an incalculable number of memes, the humorous adaptations of a photo, a video or a quote. You only have to spend a few minutes on the internet, and especially on Twitter, to come across one of these cultural artifacts of the internet age based on a photo of Kim Kardashian crying her eyes out.

Like her daughter, Kris Jenner has inspired many memes, often riffing on her status as matriarch of the Kardashian dynasty. “Kris Jenner on her way to find some new kids to film Keeping Up With The Kardashians w her,” reads one such example, in reference to the reality show that the businesswoman launched in 2007 with the US network E!. 

Gen Z’s “rickrolling” update?

The latest internet sensation featuring Kris Jenner came about on TikTok, the flagship app for Generation Z. Its name? “Krissing.” It is based on a YouTube video in which Kris Jenner can be seen lip-synching and dancing to Lady Marmalade, the soulful disco hit covered by Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil’ Kim and Mya for the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge” movie. 

Now, web users have hijacked it to humorous ends, echoing the famous (and massively viral) “rickrolling” prank – one of the major landmarks of web culture. It all started in 2007 on the forum 4chan, when a user in search of popularity posted what was supposedly a trailer for the highly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto IV” on a discussion forum. Except that the post actually redirected users to the video for Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. And so, “rickrolling” was born. 

“Krissing” is based on the same kind of bait-and-switch tactics, by which internet users sneak a snippet of Kris Jenner from the “Lady Marmalade” video into their TikTok posts, which they trick others into watching. And it seems that many users of the social media site have a sense of humor, since the #krissed hashtag already counts over 266 millions views on the application.

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Many brands are now getting in on the act, and “krissing” the platform’s users with ads that appear too good to be true. The New York Rangers tried their hand at “krissing” by announcing the (fake) forthcoming arrival of Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian’s former partner, in their ice hockey team. And the “krissing” craze doesn’t seem like it’s about to stop anytime soon, just like its legendary precursor, “rickrolling.”

@nyrangersofficial Sorry fam, you just got #krissed ♬ original sound – wandakardashian