The history of the Eric Andre ‘Let Me In’ meme

The “Let Me In” meme originates from a special episode of The Eric Andre Show that was filmed at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. The meme typically appears as a reaction image or short animated gif showing Andre grasping the bars of the fence around or near the convention center and screaming “let me in” as he struggles to find the entrance.

This moment has been used over the years to describe any situation in which someone might want to enter an area (or person) and is acting desperate about it.

What is the Eric Andre Let Me In meme?

The Let Me In meme is either used as a GIF or as an image consisting of two panels—the first showing Andre grasping at the fence bars and the second showing a zoomed-in shot as he lifts his face to the sky and starts yelling and flailing comically.

The image memes will then include a “me when” type caption or will label the fence with something desirable such as “The Kingdom of Heaven” or “childhood.” These are also frequently altered to put someone else’s head on Andre’s body, dress him up in various character outfits, add props, or even alter the text to read “Let me out.”

Origins of the meme

The episode of Adult Swim series The Eric Andre Show from which the meme came aired on June 29, 2016, and was titled “Near the DNC,” suggesting that he never quite made it to the convention itself but was simply bothering people rallying in support of Democratic presidential candidates like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders near or outside of the building.

A nearly three-minute clip from the special showed up on YouTube on the same day, showing the context for the “let me in” meme. First, it shows why the Eric Andre team was kicked out of the Republican National Convention weeks earlier. Then Andre says “I don’t know what I’m doing here” and is filmed stumbling around the sidewalk by the fence, groaning and falling over, before he performs the act that sparked the meme.

The meme itself didn’t appear on social media until 2018 after YouTube user Stevie A posted a two-second clip of the iconic moment that gained over 3.6 million views. It wasn’t long before someone made a gif out of that video and the gag was born.

Meme template

Meme spread

Eric Andre Let Me In memes began to spread on Reddit in 2019. One post in the “Dank Memes” sub referenced the issues that rapper 21 Savage was having with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after he overstayed his H-4 visa as a British citizen.

The meme labeled the fence as “America” and Andre as 21 Savage, with the joke being that the rapper was very eager to remain in the U.S., where he was most popular and had been living since 2005. In 2023, he obtained a green card and is now a lawful permanent resident eligible for U.S. citizenship in 2028.

Meme examples

Related memes:

• Hands up for the ‘silence X, a Y is talking’ meme
• ‘Who killed Hannibal’ is the perfect Eric Andre meme for calling out hypocrisy
• Hannibal Buress looking at this hands is now a meme

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