“The government wants him killed on sight” is the text on a 2020 meme featuring an orangutan in a suit and hat. This image appeared on a Facebook page during a year where very little seemed to make sense and went viral on the early social media platform before spreading to others.
There is much that is unknown about this meme, including what the orangutan did to get him on a government hit list and why somebody decided to make this meme at all, but that’s Facebook for you.
What is the ‘The government wants him killed on sight’ meme?
The original version of the meme shows a steely-eyed orangutan wearing a gray bowler hat and a blue suit with a white collared shirt. The ape appears to be staring into the middle distance as though recalling the horrors of his past and possibly future crimes.
Below his face is a transparent reddish banner supporting white text that reads “The government wants him killed on sight.”
Other versions of the meme use different images in place of the orangutans, including other cute animals as well as popular characters.
Meme origins
This image first appeared on September 20, 2020, on a dedicated Facebook meme page called “Memes With An Overall Lack Of Context,” which explains why there is no explanation out there for why this one exists. Fans of this page will often post strange and random images with the hope that they will catch on, and for whatever reason, this one did.
The screenshot originates from the 1996 comedy film Dunston Checks In starring Sam the Orangutan as the title character alongside Eric Lloyd as Kyle. Sam plays the partner of the villainous Lord Rutledge, who trained the orangutan from birth to be a thief and plans to use him to rob the guests of the five-star Majestic Hotel.
Dunston escapes from Rutledge and runs into Kyle, who attempts to hide his new friend under the alias Dr. Lam Binh Ngoc. In the screenshot from the meme, Dunston is sitting in a wheelchair being pushed by Kyle.
‘The government wants him killed on sight’ spread and cultural significance
As the meme spread from its birthplace to other parts of Facebook and then to sites like Twitter and Reddit, people began to replace Sam the Orangutan with other animals and characters who fit well with the theme. The idea was to find anything that looked like it would never end up on a government hit list for the sake of comedic irony.
This came to include an adorable orange kitten standing on its hind legs as well as many large-eyed anime characters and odd video game creatures.
2024 resurgence
The meme with or without Sam held a trickle of interest over the years but experienced a surge in late September 2024 in the form of a text message meme. On September 28 of that year, user @KindaHagi posted a screenshot of her messages to a friend showing that she had sent the meme without noticing said friend’s previous text: “I got my Master’s today!!!”
This context brought a new layer of humor to the meme due to what appeared to be a very strange response to some good news about an academic accomplishment. The tweet now has over one million views and 64,000 likes.
More ‘the government wants him killed on sight’ memes
More monkey memes:
- TikTokers can relate to Amber the Pointing Orangutan
- The Planet of the Apes “oh no” monkey meme helps express your worst moments
- The golden snub-nosed monkey meme: a history
- Introducing le monke, a meme so pointless you can’t help but love it
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