Roll Safe

Roll Safe is an Internet meme in which British filmmaker and actor Kayode Ewumi, while portraying the character Reece Simpson (also known as Roll Safe) in his own web series Hood Documentary, is seen tapping his finger on his head.[1][2] The images are used, often with joking caption, to mock poor decision-making and failures in critical thinking, a common format being "You can't X, if there is no Y".[3]

The character Roll Safe had first emerged in Vine in 2015.[4] The Hood Documentary episode was published in June 2016 and, months later, was used as a reaction image by some British Twitter accounts. In late January 2017, its popularity increased drastically, especially on the Black Twitter community.[3][5][6] Khal of Complex declared it was "the new petty meme for 2017",[7] Desire Thompson of Vibe said it was "the best way to kick off Black History Month",[8] and "robopanda" of Yahoo said the meme "is here to give you the best worst advice".[9]

It was included on many best 2017 memes lists, including Thrillist,[10] Complex,[11] BuzzFeed News,[12] The Daily Dot,[13] Insider,[14] BBC News,[15] PCMag,[16] Washington Post,[17] PopBuzz,[18] and MTV UK.[19] The Reddit moderators of the /r/MemeEconomy subreddit told Inverse that they thought it was one of the best memes of 2017.[20]

It was a finalist in the 10th Shorty Awards.[21] In 2024, The Daily Dot called the meme "one of the most indelible images" of 2010s Internet.[22]

References

  1. ^ Dimoldenberg, Amelia (22 January 2016). "Meet the Man Behind MC Roll Safe, Britain's Favorite Viral Vine Character". VICE. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  2. ^ "Watch: I Accidentally Became A Meme: Roll Safe". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b Feldman, Brian (9 February 2017). "How Roll Safe (You Know, the Guy Tapping His Head) Took Over Your Timeline". Intelligencer. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Kayode Ewumi Says He Was Offered Big Bucks To Bring Back 'Roll Safe'". Complex. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  5. ^ Hathaway, Jay (2 February 2017). "Roll Safe is the new #Saltbae". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  6. ^ "People Are Adding Profound Advice To An Image From A BBC Show And Now It's A Huge Meme". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Roll Safe Is the New Petty Meme for 2017". Complex. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  8. ^ Thompson, Desire (3 February 2017). "The "Roll Safe" Meme Is The Best Way To Kick Off Black History Month". VIBE.com. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  9. ^ "The 'Roll Safe' Meme Is Here To Give You The Best Worst Advice". Yahoo!. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  10. ^ "The 50 Best Memes of 2017". Thrillist. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  11. ^ "The Best Memes of 2017". Complex. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  12. ^ "38 Great Memes That Defined 2017". BuzzFeed News. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  13. ^ "The 65 best memes of 2017 (and counting)". The Daily Dot. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  14. ^ Shamsian, Jacob. "20 moments that went viral and dominated the internet this year". Insider. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  15. ^ "The top memes and viral videos of 2017". BBC News. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Distracted Boyfriend to Salt Bae: 2017's Best Memes". PCMag. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Trending: Meme Hall of Fame of 2017". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  18. ^ "The Best Memes Of 2017". PopBuzz. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  19. ^ "All The Best Memes Of 2017". MTV UK. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  20. ^ Paoletta, Rae (26 December 2017). "Reddit Moderators Reveal The Best Memes of 2017, And The Ones That Must Die". Inverse. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Roll Safe – The Shorty Awards". Shorty Awards. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  22. ^ Calise, Kyle (19 May 2024). "Meme History: Roll Safe". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
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