11 people the internet fell in love with in 2022
Mara Leighton
- The internet's favorite characters ranged in 2022 from "Corn Kid" to an Orthodox Jewish choir.
- We loved everyday people with unique hobbies and dreams and revivals of nostalgic celebrities.
Each year, out of the internet's vast cosmic soup, we find at least a handful of people we love — or at least like enough to share on our timelines (which is a pretty big deal).
In 2022, the MVPs in this year's digital yearbook include a corn-obsessed 7-year-old and a 92-year-old woman with one hell of a grudge. We rooted for #BamaRush's sorority pledge Grant Sikes and put a Hebrew song performed by tweens with exceptional stage presence on repeat. Followers helped a 42-year-old restaurant manager who'd been playing dead on TikTok for a year to land a "CSI: Las Vegas" gig and "dozens" reportedly applied to adopt a scruffy dog named "Bob" when he was overlooked at an adoption event.
Below are 11 people we fell in love with online in 2022:
A 92-year-old great-grandmother posted a hilarious list of funeral rules
Ninety-two-year-old Lillian Droniak went viral for a March 30 TikTok in which she offered a list of rules for her funeral, instructing future guests to "get drunk afterward, "cry, but not too much," and an explicit edict that "Bertha isn't invited."
In a follow-up video on April 19, the grandmother of five and great-grandmother of two explained her exclusion of Bertha, telling followers that Bertha had been "cut out" of her life for "trying to talk to my husband" and because she would "copy off whatever I wore."
Droniak told Insider she wanted to create a "lighthearted" conversation about death, explaining, "it doesn't need to be scary or taboo. It helps you live life better if you're not afraid."
Chopa the corgi and his owner, Anastasia Koshevaia were separated and then reunited amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine
TikTokers followed along as Anastasia Koshevaia and her corgi Chopa lived their lives: picnicking, celebrating Chopa's birthday parties, and snuggling.
But then in February, the pair were separated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where Koshevaia lived in Kyiv with her parents. A few days prior to the invasion, Koshevaia had visited Poland with her boyfriend. The conflict made it too dangerous for her to return to her parents and Chopa, who she told Insider "is like a baby for me."
In June, the pair were finally reunited. In a comment, Koshevaia told viewers she "immediately went to get my dog" and decamped for Spain once the military retreated from the territory her parents lived in. Since, Koshevaia has shared videos of Chopa lounging on the beach.
Elaine Hendrix, the actress who played 'Parent Trap' character Meredith Blake, offered an alternate take on the movie — and millions agreed
Actress Elaine Hendrix of "Parent Trap" fame and deep '90s nostalgia, posted a TikTok defending her character of Meredith Blake on July 29 — exactly 24 years from the day the movie first premiered.
In it, Hendrix can be seen opening a bottle of wine and drinking a glass as Adele's "Easy on Me" plays and on-screen captions narrate the popular movie's plot from her perspective.
The text read, "He's a 10 but," referencing a popular meme used to point out a partner's perceived shortcomings. Hendrix goes on to point out her fictional fiance Nick Parker's red flags, like twins he secretly split up at birth and didn't tell his girlfriend about. The video, viewed almost 9 million times, had TikTokers rethinking the movie.
"Meredith Blake isn't the villain, no way," Hendrix told Insider. "I always believed that."
A restaurant manager played dead on TikTok and landed a part on TV
Josh Nalley, a 42-year-old restaurant manager in Kentucky, has been "playing dead" on TikTok for the past year in the hopes of landing a Hollywood role. Nalley told Insider he doesn't fancy himself an actor, so lobbying for a role as a corpse seemed like the "the easiest way to get into a movie without actually having to do much work."
In part thanks to his @living_dead_josh followers tagging film studios, Nalley finally landed a role as a dead body on "CSI: Las Vegas" in July, with the show's social media team actually flying him out to California for filming. The episode aired in November.
Everyone followed along as Grant Sikes, a gender-nonconforming sorority pledge, took part in BamaRush
The main character of #BamaRush TikTok this year was Grant Sikes, a gender-nonconforming pledge who garnered millions of views on her #RushTok OOTD videos and avid supporters for her bubbly personality and authenticity.
Sikes was cut from recruitment and, in a TikTok, told followers, "it is extremely upsetting, and I'm sad because I wanted to be a part of a sisterhood and, more than that, a community."
On Instagram, she wrote she was "hopeful of a future where everyone is welcomed for just being themselves everywhere." Supporters such as Eli Rallo, a fellow TikTok creator, told Sikes she was "meant for bigger and better things," adding that "your impact made many people wake up this week feeling a little more comfort in being themselves."
The "It's corn!" kid warmed hearts
A 7-year-old named Tariq became the star of the internet when an August 4 video from the web series "Recess Therapy" racked up tens of millions of views on Instagram.
In the clip, Tariq tells interviewer Julian Shapiro-Barnum how much he loves corn, explaining that it "tasted good" and when he "tried it with butter everything changed." Responding to a question about his other favorite things, Tariq briefly offers answers like playing "tag" before returning to the topic of corn: "I can't imagine a more beautiful thing. It's corn!" he yelled, later telling everyone to have a "corntastic day."
On TikTok, the interview was remixed into a song and used in a whopping 1.4 million videos.
"Corn Kid," as he became known to the internet, did interviews with talk shows and news organizations and was even honored with the title of "Corn-bassador" in South Dakota.
Over the summer, everyone played an Orthodox Jewish boys' choir on repeat
A 2007 clip of Orthodox Jewish tweens singing a Hebrew song went viral on TikTok in August, racking up 12 million views.
The group, known as the "Miami Boys Choir," had been a household name for decades among Orthodox families, according to people who grew up listening. The video brought millions of new listeners to the group, with commenters saying they played it "on repeat."
Chananya Begun posted the video. His father Yerachmiel Begun founded the group.
"I wanted to do something for my dad. I wanted to do something to further my father's legacy," he told Insider.
Joie Henry shocked Philadelphians when he took his emotional support alligator, Wally, out for a walk
Wally is reptile rescuer Joie Henney's emotional support alligator, and the pair gained national attention when Henney documented a trip to Love Park, Philadelphia, in an August 26 video. In the clip, Wally can be seen moseying through the park's fountain in a harness and leash to the sound of Owl City's "Good Time."
Henney, who is battling cancer, told The Washington Post that he hugs Wally and sleeps in the same bed as the alligator. The two watch TV together and take trips to the farmers' market. "He really showed a love for cheesy popcorn," he told the outlet.
Henney also has a GoFundMe campaign going on to raise funds for WallyGator and Friends Reptile Rescue, the rescue organization he runs.
"Bob," the dog who was passed up for adoption, became an overnight star
Bob Parr, a small, scruffy rescue dog, won the hearts of many when a video of him appearing to be ignored at an NYC adoption event went viral. In the November 1 clip, Bob goes largely unnoticed by visitors, with no one playing or interacting with him.
The video by Andrea Cáceres racked up millions of views, and she shared an update two days later letting viewers know that Bob's rescue organization had received "around 40 applications" from people hoping to bring him home.
A 28-year-old artist built a 3,000-pound coffin — for a bag of Cheetos
Twenty-eight-year-old artist @sunday.nobody built a 3,000-pound sarcophagus to house a small bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos — suspended by wires to ensure it would survive earthquakes — "for future civilizations to find." The November 6 video has since been viewed 12 million times.
The Seattle-based meme artist has a full-time job as an animator but told Insider he doesn't want "clothes or a car or any of that stuff" and preferred to spend $1,200 of his savings on art that he and the internet could enjoy.
Commenters joked about the artist ending up as a topic in future history classes or the chips starting a war 10,000 years from now. Said one commenter: "They'll either think we worshipped Hot Cheetos, or that they destroyed us all. Either way, they'll be correct."
Goo, the rapping gardener, brought the joy of horticulture to TikTok
Corey Paul, nicknamed "Goo," is a 37-year-old TikToker whose "Gardening with Goo" TikToks have created a community focused on gardening. Through plant-themed rap songs, the father of 7 encourages followers to try urban gardening and emphasizes sustainability and diversity to his "Green Thumb Gang."
"It's the first day of spring, and I'm out here in the garden," Paul raps in one of his most popular TikTok videos. "Water boy because I give H2O to my babies. Rosemary bush growing crazy. Cabbages — ain't getting ate up by no worms because I ain't having it."
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