Who Killed Hannibal
Where it came from
A three-panel scene from Eric Andre's 2016 late-night show where he shoots his co-host Hannibal Buress, then turns to the camera and incredulously asks "Who killed Hannibal?" Became a meme in 2018.
Three panels. Panel one: a gunshot. Panel two: Hannibal Buress falls to the floor. Panel three: Eric Andre, who clearly did the shooting, turns to the camera and asks "Why would they do this? Who would do this?" You use it when someone does a thing, the thing has an obvious consequence, and then they pretend to be shocked that the consequence happened.
It's the "man destroys his own life and blames the universe" format. The comedy is in how transparent the denial is — Eric Andre is literally still holding the gun while asking who could have possibly done this. That contradiction is the entire joke.
Still in active use. It's one of the best formats for calling out self-inflicted disasters without naming the specific disaster.
Search interest, over time
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