When life hands you a global pandemic that forces the world into self-isolation, make Meryl memes. Meryl Streep drinking in quarantine is officially the meme of 2020. The instantly iconic image came about on Sunday, April 26, when she joined her Mamma Mia! co-star Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald (from their respective homes, of course) to perform "Ladies Who Lunch," from Stephen Sondheim's musical Company, in honor of the theater legend's 90th birthday. And it's truly the meme that this year deserves.
Rather than get glammed up for the occasion, Streep and the ladies stayed in their bathrobes and didn't bother to fix their messy hair, which all of us have been doing while at home. And as they kept singing, the drinks kept flowing, embodying the true purpose of ladies who lunch. Streep, especially, delivered quality GIF-worthy moments while shaking martinis and drinking straight out of the bottle, a.k.a. being the ultimate quarantine mood.
As expected, social media went absolutely wild over Streep, spawning memes and reaction GIFs practically before their number even finished airing (because what else do we have to do?). "Meryl Streep and her ability of playing all of us in quarantine wow her power," one Twitter user quipped — truly an Oscar worthy performance. As the night went on, Streep's woes provided the perfect reaction for everything. Like, when you see a quarantine protest video:
Or when it's the start of another long work from home week.
Or when you've been stuck in quarantine for over a month and you don't know what to do with yourself other than sing Sondheim for the entire world.
Of course, this is far from the first time that her hilarious actions have been the subject of endless memes. Streep shouting at the 2015 SAG Awards remains the reaction meme du jour (and still, nobody knows what she was saying). She then stole the 2018 Oscars without even stepping on stage by recreating her own meme from her seat, like only she could. As timely as these new Meryl Streep quarantine memes are, hopefully she won't have to recreate them ever again.
Honestly, Streep depicted all of us in quarantine so well that she should receive her fourth Oscar for the performance. And given the amount of film delays due to the closure of theaters amid the pandemic, she just might.
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