Let Me In Meme
The let me in meme is a two box template built from footage of comedian Eric Andre gripping a fence and screaming to be let in. Box one labels the thing he is shut out of. Box two labels whoever is desperate to get inside it.
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Where the let me in meme comes from
In the summer of 2016 the comedian filmed a run of man-on-the-street segments around the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The practical problem, which became the joke, was that he could not get a press pass. Without one he was barred from the venue and could not reach candidates or delegates, so a large amount of the material was shot from outside the perimeter fence. The resulting special, titled Near the DNC, aired on Adult Swim on 29 July 2016.
The shot everyone uses is from that perimeter: the comedian with both hands on the bars, face pressed against them, yelling to be let in. It is a real reaction to a real exclusion, which is part of why it works so well as a template. Nothing about the performance is being held back for the camera.
The meme took two years to arrive. The spread is credited to 2018, when the YouTube user Stevie A posted a roughly two second clip of the moment that went on to collect millions of views and turned it into a standard reaction gif. Meming Wiki additionally credits an early Twitter post from the account @thotcelot with prompting the first wave of captioned versions. Sources differ on which of those came first, and we are not going to pick. What is consistent across accounts is that the still image with two labels became a standard template on Reddit through 2019.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Summer 2016 | The comedian films segments around the Democratic National Convention but cannot obtain a press pass, so he works from outside the fence. |
| 29 July 2016 | The special, Near the DNC, airs on Adult Swim. The fence shot is in that segment. |
| 2018 | A short clip posted by YouTube user Stevie A collects millions of views and turns the moment into a reaction gif. |
| 2018 to 2019 | Captioned versions spread. Meming Wiki credits an early Twitter post from @thotcelot with starting that wave; accounts differ on the order. |
| 2019 onward | The two label still becomes a standard template on Reddit and the meme generators. |
A note on scope. The frame shows a real, living, named comedian in footage from his own television programme. This page documents the format only, and makes no claims about him. The political setting is simply where the footage was shot; the template itself carries no politics and works best when it is not used to import any.
What it means and when to use it
The format is about exclusion, and specifically about undignified exclusion. Not being quietly left out, but wanting in so badly that you have lost all composure about it while the thing you want continues without noticing you exist.
The two labels are not interchangeable, and getting them the right way round is the whole craft. The label on the fence, gate or building is the closed thing. The label on the man is whoever wants in. Beginners routinely reverse these, which produces an image of a group screaming to be let into a person, and readers will not do the work of untangling it.
The best versions exploit a mismatch in stakes. The desperation on screen is enormous. The thing being excluded from should be small, petty, or something you have no real claim to in the first place. A caption about being shut out of something you genuinely deserve reads as a complaint. A caption about being shut out of a group chat that was formed specifically to avoid you reads as a joke.
| Situation | Right use | Wrong use |
|---|---|---|
| Label on the fence | The closed thing: a group, a room, an event, a system. | The person who wants in. Reversing the labels breaks the image completely. |
| Label on the man | Whoever is excluded, usually the poster. | An abstract concept. The man is a person, so the label should read as one. |
| Stakes | Petty. Something you want far more than you should. | A real grievance. The undignified screaming turns a legitimate complaint into a self-own. |
| Who is excluding | An impersonal thing, or friends in an obviously affectionate way. | Naming a real individual who has excluded you. That is a public complaint wearing a meme. |
| Length | A short noun phrase on each side. | A sentence on the fence. Small text on a chain-link background is unreadable at thumbnail size. |
Captions that work
Two boxes. Box one is the closed thing, which goes on the fence or the building. Box two is whoever is outside it, which goes on the man.
- friendsThe group chat that made a second group chat Me
- Every conversation about the show I have not started Me
- workThe meeting where my project is on the agenda Me
- petsThe one cupboard the cat has never managed to open The cat
- The trend everyone used last week Me, discovering it today
- friendsThe dinner reservation my friends made for six Me, the seventh
- devThe service behind the permissions check Me, with a valid account
- The 9am class that is full within four seconds Me, refreshing the app
- The comments section that closed after four hours Me, with the best joke of my life
- familyThe party my parents said was adults only Me, aged nine
- shoppingThe queue that keeps putting me back to position 4000 Me, with a saved card and no dignity
- familyWhatever my siblings are discussing about me Me
Variants and close relatives
| Format | Source | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| The animated gif version | The same footage, in motion | Carries the shouting and the shaking of the fence. Better in chat threads; the still is better for two labels. |
| Squidward looking out the window | A cartoon frame | Passive exclusion. Watching other people enjoy something rather than clawing at a barrier to reach it. |
| Sad Pablo Escobar | A frame from a television drama | Loneliness and waiting rather than active desperation. Nobody is being kept out of anything. |
| Waiting Skeleton | A skeleton seated on a bench | The comedy of elapsed time. Same exclusion, opposite energy: total stillness instead of total panic. |
| Third wheel and left-out formats | Various stills | Exclusion from a social group specifically, usually with the group visible in frame. This one keeps the group off screen. |
Common mistakes
- Swapping the labels. The closed thing goes on the fence and the excluded party goes on the man. Reversed, the image says nothing and readers will not reconstruct it.
- Using it for a real grievance. The performance is deliberately undignified. Attach it to something you are genuinely owed and you have made yourself the punchline.
- Naming a real person as the excluder. That converts a joke into a public complaint about an individual, which is a different post and rarely a good one.
- Long text on the fence. The background is busy metal. Anything longer than a short phrase turns into visual noise at feed size.
- Labelling the man with an abstraction. He reads as a person. Put a person or a group there, not a concept.
- Importing the political setting. The footage was shot at a convention, but the template carries no politics. Captions that reach for that context add friction and nothing else.
- Using it where nobody is actually excluded. The format needs a closed door. Wanting something is not the same as being kept out of it.
Limits and etiquette
Honest assessment: this is a mature template that peaked around 2019 and 2020 and has settled into steady, unremarkable use since. It is instantly readable, which is its main asset, and it has been used by enough brand accounts to have lost any edge. Nobody will be surprised by it. Plenty of people will still find it funny, which is a different and more useful property.
Two limits worth naming. First, the source is a comedy programme built on discomfort, and the footage is of a real person genuinely being refused entry to a place. Captioning the layout is ordinary internet practice; using the frame to make assertions about the performer is not the same thing. Second, the shot was taken at a political convention, and while the meme has been fully detached from that context for years, occasional captions try to drag it back. Those versions read as heavier than the format can carry and land badly with most audiences.
The template frame reproduced here is third-party material, hosted for captioning only; rights holders can use the takedown policy at /dmca/.
Frequently asked questions
What is the let me in meme?
It is a two box template showing comedian Eric Andre gripping a fence and screaming. One label names the thing he is shut out of and the other names who wants in.
Where is the let me in meme from?
A special episode of The Eric Andre Show filmed around the 2016 Democratic National Convention, which aired on Adult Swim on 29 July 2016.
Why is he screaming at a fence?
He could not get a press pass for the convention, so he was kept outside the perimeter and shot much of the material from beyond the fence.
How many text boxes does the let me in template have?
Two. One goes on the fence or the building for the closed thing, and one goes on the man for whoever is excluded.
When did the let me in meme become popular?
About two years after it aired. A short clip posted in 2018 by the YouTube user Stevie A collected millions of views, and captioned stills spread through 2019.
Which label goes where?
The closed thing goes on the fence and the excluded party goes on the man. Reversing them is the most common mistake with this format.
What does the let me in meme mean?
Undignified exclusion. It works best when the thing you are shut out of is petty and the desperation is wildly out of proportion to it.
Is the let me in meme still used in 2026?
Yes. It peaked around 2019 and 2020 and has been in steady use since, helped by the fact that it reads correctly with no knowledge of the source.