Mac and Charlie Crying

About

Mac and Charlie Crying is an image macro series featuring a screenshot from the American television situational comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In the scene, the characters Mac and Charlie mock their friends Dee and Dennis, who recently became addicted to drugs, by showing overstated sympathy, while wearing tuxedos and top hats. Online, memers use the image to express mock sympathy for those they believe deserve their plight.

Origin

On July 6th, 2006, the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode "Dennis and Dee Go On Welfare" aired on the FX cable network.^[1] In the episode, Mac and Charlie (portrayed by Rob McElhenny and Charlie Day, respectively) gain access to a friend's secret bank account, spending their money on expensive clothes. They meet their friends Dennis and Dee (portrayed by Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson), who recently ended up on government support after developing a drug addiction. Mac and Charlie mock their friends and their current situation by pretending to cry over their misfortune.

On December 22nd, 2008, YouTuber lokis23rdeye posted a clip of the scene. Within 13 years, the video received more than 51,000 views (shown below).

Spread

Usage of the scene as a meme did not begin, in earnest, until the 2010s, appearing as a reaction image and a GIF. On February 2nd, 2015, Imgur ^[2] user 998thLordCommanderOfTheNightsWatch shared a GIF of the scene, which received more than 5,000 views (shown below, left). On September 27th, 2016, Imgur^[3] user TKBarbus posted the image as a response to a quote from United States President Donald Trump (shown below, center). The following day, a Meme Generator ^[4] user posted the image on the site (example below, right).

On November 7th, 2020, Tumblr ^[5] user whatacatch shared the image with an edited caption that relates to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. The post received more than 27,000 notes (shown below).

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References