#SelfieKid Was the True Star of the 2018 Super Bowl Halftime Show
Justin Timberlake spared no spectacle during his 2018 Super Bowl halftime performance, including a larger-than-life Prince tribute, multiple stages, hundreds of dancers, and more. But it was when he walked into the crowd armed with nothing but a microphone that the show’s true star, #SelfieKid, emerged.
AND HERE IT IS.#SelfieKid with @jtimberlake!#HalftimeSelfie#SuperBowlSelfie#SuperBowl #PepsiHalftime pic.twitter.com/Edww4CSSm7
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 5, 2018
As Timberlake made his way up some stairs and into the crowd, he paused to take a selfie with 13-year-old Ryan McKenna. Twitter immediately named him #SelfieKid, and the memes flooded in just as quickly as McKenna turned back to his phone, with many joking about the various things the excited teen could be Googling. “Who is Justin Timberlake?” took the top spot in that joke category.
— Jamie McCarty (@JamieMcCarty) February 5, 2018
Even NBC’s This Is Us got in on the action, joking that McKenna was quickly checking in on what happened to Jack Pearson in the show’s dramatic post-Super Bowl episode.
#SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/h2myKvtJVz
— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) February 5, 2018
One user joked that McKenna was texting his dad to come pick him up because he didn’t know what was happening.
— ian (@GALDYTRON) February 5, 2018
McKenna told Good Morning America, who also got the prized selfie, that he was rushed by the media immediately after appearing on camera with the “Filthy” singer, so he missed the second half of the game (which was probably for the best since he was rooting for the Patriots). He also explained that he was trying to film a video but his phone shut off, hence why he quickly looked back down at the screen, even as JT continued to sing and dance beside him.
But, as he told GMA, it was more than worth it. “He’s my favorite singer,” McKenna said. “I had to get a selfie with him.” We would have done the same thing!
What did you think of #SelfieKid? Let us know @BritandCo!
(photo via Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
