Monkey Puppet
Where it came from
A still from a 1998 Japanese educational show featuring a monkey puppet that side-eyes the camera, glances away, and then slowly looks back. Became a meme in 2016 as the "awkwardly pretending I didn't see that" reaction.
A little monkey puppet with big eyes glances away from the camera, then glances back, in the classic "uhhh, didn't see anything" move. You use it when someone says or does something wildly inappropriate and the only possible response is to pretend it didn't happen. The two-panel "glance and glance back" version is the standard.
The puppet is doing the universal "I am trying very hard to stay out of this" face. It's the visual form of "anyway, as I was saying". Perfect for group chats where someone drops a bombshell and the other people just... keep going.
Still used frequently. The "awkwardly looking away" format has barely aged at all.
Search interest, over time
↳ data courtesy of google trends
