Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Greta Thunberg Epically Trolls Climate Concert Crowd With Rick Astley Hit—And People Went Wild

Greta Thunberg Epically Trolls Climate Concert Crowd With Rick Astley Hit—And People Went Wild
Elena Di Vincenzo/Archivio Elena Di Vincenzo/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

The internet prank known as "Rickrolling" may be about a million years old in Internet years, but even Greta Thunberg knows a classic when she sees one.

The Swedish teen climate activist had people going absolutely wild when she trolled the crowd at a recent climate change-themed concert, treating attendees to a surprise performance of pop singer Rick Astley's 1987 hit—and beloved internet joke—"Never Gonna Give You Up."


Thunberg took to the stage at the Climate Live concert in Stockholm to sing and dance to the iconic song.

See a clip below.

@climatelive2021

dudu dududu dudududu #CANYOUHEARUSYET

At first when Thunberg took the stage, she appeared to be preparing to deliver another of the rousing speeches about climate change that she has become famous for--like the one a few weeks ago when she called out Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson for their inaction on the crisis.

But instead of launching into missives about fighting climate apocalypse, Thunberg delivered words that will seem instantly familiar to anyone who's spent time on the internet over the years:

"We're not strangers to love..."

A fellow activist onstage chipped in the next line of Astley's hit:

"You know the rules, and so do I..."

And suddenly the song came bursting out of the sound system as the crowd erupted into an ecstatic song and dance.

The "Rickroll," a long-running internet joke that first began on April Fool's Day 2007, involves a bait-and-switch prank where internet users follow a hyperlink purporting to be relevant to the topic at hand, but instead leads to Astley's deliciously cheesy 80s pop video.

But if you think Astley's feelings might be hurt by all this, think again.

Even he took to Twitter to praise Thunberg's stunt as "fantastic."


Speaking to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the usually serious Thunberg explained why she incorporated a Rickroll into her Cliamte Live appearance:

"At the end of the day, we are just teenagers fooling around with each other, not just the angry kids the media often portrays us as."

On Twitter, people absolutely loved it.












This isn't the first time Thunberg has Rickrolled us.

She previously used the trick in an April Fool's Day tweet this year offering climate change activism guidance, but led to Astley's video.

Good on her for having an appreciation for the internet classics!

More from Trending/funny-news

Melania Trump
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Melania Just Held A Bizarre Press Conference To Debunk 'False Smears' Related To Jeffrey Epstein—And Everyone Had The Same Response

First Lady Melania Trump had everyone thinking the same thing after she held a bizarre press conference on Thursday to deny that she had anything but casual ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the late disgraced financier, pedophile, sexual abuser, and sex trafficker.

Mrs. Trump publicly denied any ties to convicted sex offenders Epstein and his procurer Ghislaine Maxwell, saying claims linking her to Epstein are “lies” meant to damage her reputation. She said she met her husband, President Donald Trump at a New York City party in 1998 and did not meet Epstein until 2000, contradicting a witness statement in the Epstein files that alleges Epstein introduced the couple.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sarah McBride; Nancy Mace
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Dem Rep. Sarah McBride Perfectly Shames Nancy Mace For Her Transphobic Response To McBride's Condemnation Of Trump

Delaware Democratic Representative Sarah McBride pushed back at South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace after Mace responded with transphobia to McBride's criticism of President Donald Trump's genocidal threat to kill the "whole civilization" of Iran.

Trump has insisted that God supports his war on Iran and declared—before a provisional ceasefire was announced—that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" ahead of a deadline to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges that legal scholars and world leaders have said would constitute war crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of JD Vance
News Nation

JD Vance Dragged After Making Bizarre 'Skydiving' Analogy About His Wife To Explain Iran Ceasefire Deal

Vice President JD Vance had critics raising their eyebrows after he used a bizarre analogy about his wife–Second Lady Usha Vance—going skydiving while attempting to explain the United States' position on Iran's right to enrich uranium.

Vance addressed reporters on the tarmac at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport as he left Hungary, where he had voiced the Trump administration’s support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán only days before the country’s elections.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @mikemancusi's Instagram video
@mikemancusi/Instagram

Comedian Explains How Millennials' Midlife Crises Are Different From Past Generations—And He's Spot On

Don't make promises you cannot keep, unless your goal is to hurt someone.

Millennials know that practically better than anyone. They were fed a long and impassioned series of advice, hyper-focused on the importance of getting a college degree in order to find a good job. They were also force-fed traditionalist ideals of getting married, having kids, and buying a nice house with the money they'd be making from that great job, of course.

Keep ReadingShow less