What's The 'King Kong Punching A Gorilla GIF'? Twitter's Obsession With 'Kong Mewing' Explained

A hand-camera recording of a scene from the new Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire film has been a viral reaction GIF on Twitter / X, as many users have created the funniest jokes and memes of the moment King Kong punches a gorilla to the ground.

Although critics haven't been so kind with the Godzilla x Kong sequel, earning a 54% score out of 192 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems like the average audience and fans of the Monsterverse franchise are having a blast on theaters and the internet.

If you're curious about why this King Kong scene is resonating with people on social media, we'll explain it right here!

Where Does The 'King Kong Punching A Gorilla GIF' Come From?

Before explaining why Kong made a giant gorilla kiss the floor, here's the context of the scene, which is from the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire film that was released in theaters in the United States on March 28th, 2024. The movie's plot centers around the monsters, called Titans, Godzilla and Kong, facing a colossal threat hidden deep within the planet known as the "Hollow Earth."

In a particular scene from the movie, Kong is being provoked by a giant gorilla from the "Hollow Earth," but he isn't so much in the mood for any chats and decides to finish the enemy with a single blow, leaving the gorilla immediately knocked down on the ground (shown below).

Why Is The 'King Kong Punching A Gorilla GIF' Viral On Twitter / X?

X user @xbox_awesome was watching the "King Kong punching a gorilla" scene in a theater and just so happened to record it with his phone, uploading the moment in the GIF format, but a bit faster than the actual scene, making it look more goofy than a tense moment (shown below).

Shortly after, people started to use the scene for parodies and memes, including a version posted on X by user @Murdoink, which features the gorilla screaming at Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, who also had been a popular GIF meme on X with the Harkonnen Kiss from the _ Dune Part Two_ film.

made this gif pic.twitter.com/WUgtnW0tI7

— Murdoink (@Murdoink) March 31, 2024

Is 'Kong Mewing' On The Godzilla vs Kong 2 Movie?

Another meme based on the same scene, called "Kong mewing," went viral on TikTok and YouTube, in which some netizens alleged Kong was mewing during this fight. For those unfamiliar, "mewing" is an internet slang term referring to a tongue exercise in which the tongue is rested against the roof of the mouth.

TikTok user @lion_blue095 posted an edit adding the Soyjaks vs. Chads meme overlayed on the scene (shown below, left) TikTok^[3] user @caliph_37 posted a similar edit on the same day showing Kong doing the "mewing" tongue exercise.

For the full history of "Kong mewing," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.