What Is The 'Ladies And Gentlemen, We Got Him' Meme? The Remixed Quote And Viral Video Explained

In 2018, the press conference quote "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him" was coupled with Breakbot's "Baby I'm Yours" and was widely used in edits and memes often revolving around people falling for ligma jokes, or getting caught off-guard in some way or form.

But what is the true origin of the line? And how did this somewhat serious moment in history become a meme? Here's everything you need to know.

What Is The Origin Of The Line?

On December 13th, 2003, U.S. forces successfully captured the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The next morning, American diplomat Paul Bremer hosted a press conference discussing the capture of Saddam at a Baghdad press conference, saying quote "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him."

On July 10th, 2010, a clip of the press conference was uploaded to the CSpanClassics YouTube channel and received more than 3.3 million views in the past 13 years.

How Did It Spread Amongst Meme Culture?

After its initial publication, the video gained more popularity around 2018, when it was used in various memes and edits. The earliest rendition was uploaded on April 19th and included a clip of the press conference with a screenshot of news that the "Despacito" music video was deleted.

On August 4th, a template of the meme was created which included the Bremer clip, paired with a distorted version of the Breakbot song "Baby I'm Yours." This would then go on to become a viral template over the years, with lots of memes of people "getting caught lacking" being made.

What Kind Of Memes Were Made With This Template?

During its prime, the meme template was used in the context of people falling for ligma jokes. One example was uploaded by Dolan Darker on July 23rd, 2018. The video, titled "PEWDIEPIE GOT LIGMA," included a clip of Pewdiepie asking about the meaning of the term Sugondese, after which the Bremer clip is heard.

Other memes made using the template usually involved FBI or SWAT operations, with people getting caught accidentally talking to a minor, resulting in a clip of their house being raided by a SWAT team. One example includes Drake, reportedly shutting down a restaurant for an 18-year-old model, Bella Harris, followed by an Instagram photo of him with Bella in 2016, and then having the Bremer clip play right after.

On December 10th, 2018, Paul Bremer was made aware of the meme, with Bremer revealing that he only learned about his meme status from his granddaughter, and added that he was "not a meme guy, so I was watching them with great curiosity."

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For the full history of "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.