On Sunday, Usain Bolt won his third straight Olympic gold medal in the men's 100m final with a time of 9.81 seconds. While this impressive feat got the world talking about the now unquestionable GOAT, the world couldn't seem to stop talking about a photograph taken by an Australian photographer. The photo caught Bolt looking around at his competitors during the 100m race with a smile on his face as he pulled away to take the gold. You can see the photo below:
Unsurprisingly, the world of Twitter picked up on this photograph and quickly turned it into an internet meme - and many of them went viral.
Even some celebrities were trying to get in on the hilarity like Ellen DeGeneres who tweeted this.
DeGeneres was quickly met with some criticism by followers. Critiques said things like:
- "So the first thing that pops in your head when looking at this pic is 'oh let me jump onto his back like he's a common mule?'"
- "Imagine a white-man Photoshop himself riding Elaine Thompson."
- "Dear @TheEllenShow: Whatever intern thought this tweet was a good idea should be fired. Immediately."
Other followers jumped to support DeGeneres claiming that people were being too sensitive and her tweet was not at all racist.
In response to criticism, DeGeneres tweeted this:
Usain Bolt has been a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the past. He did not seem to have a problem with the tweet and he found humor in it as he retweeted the tweet to his over 4 million followers.
The meme hasn't seemed to have lost steam online and neither have critiques against Ellen and her apology.
I am still unsure of how I feel about this situation. Comment your own opinions on the situation below!
