A young Edinburgh woman who became a nightclub meme has stepped in front of the cameras for the first time in seven years – to recreate a selection of other iconic memes.
Lucia Gorman, now 24 years old, became an internet sensation overnight in 2018 thanks to a picture taken on a night out at Milk Club Edinburgh. The legendary shot, which shows her looking uninterested as a friend speaks into her ear, has since been shared millions of times and is one of the most famous memes in digital history.
Lucia has stepped back into the limelight to recreate the picture which made her famous alongside some of the internet’s most beloved memes – from Harry Maguire’s Put the Bins Out to the ever-relatable Confused Math Lady.
She told Joe: “I feel like a lot of women in the world probably really understand, and while he wasn’t being horrible, I think girls in clubs get the brunt of men just explaining things that you don’t need to hear.”
The 24-year-old said: “I really struggle to do the face that I was doing in it. While it looks really staged, it wasn’t at all. I was so off-guard that I don’t even know how to do that face like people do.
“I can try, but I just prefer to smile. I find it quite hard to do the moody, grumpy, uninterested expressions, but maybe I should just get Patrick back in my ear again and we can try to recreate it.”
Back in 2018 when the image was first circulating, it was branded the ‘most relatable nightclub photo in history’.
Lucia spoke to Cosmo, and described her feelings on becoming viral. She said: “I think I just wanted to go home.”
The 19-year-old student said she found it funny at first began to feel overwhelmed as the memes were shared thousands of times around the world.
She said: “I know everyone says it, and I sound like a mum, but what goes online… you can’t really stop it.
“Even if I wanted to get those pictures back now, I never could. It’s not up to me, really.
“It’s my face, but I don’t own it.”
In 2019, she reappeared in another nightclub image – with people online stating ‘you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain’.
The image showed her leaning on a man holding a bag of Doritos, as he appeared uncomfortable – mirroring the original.