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Everyone Did This Iconic Hand Pose in the Early 2000s

This meme is a 3x2 collage featuring seven early 2000s alternative/rock musicians (including recognizable figures like Hayley Williams, Billie Joe Armstrong, Fred Durst, and Avril Lavigne) all striking the exact same dated portrait pose: holding both hands up towards the camera with fingers spread wide, as if pushing against the lens or framing their face. At the top of the collage, bold text reads **Why was everyone in the early 2000s doing this**, which humorously calls out this ubiquitous, now nostalgic trend in 2000s celebrity and band photography. The meme evokes relatable nostalgia for the era's emo/alternative culture, highlighting a silly, shared quirk of the time's media imagery.
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Why was everyone in the early 2000s doing this

Overview

This meme is a 3x2 collage featuring seven early 2000s alternative/rock musicians (including recognizable figures like Hayley Williams, Billie Joe Armstrong, Fred Durst, and Avril Lavigne) all striking the exact same dated portrait pose: holding both hands up towards the camera with fingers spread wide, as if pushing against the lens or framing their face. At the top of the collage, bold text reads Why was everyone in the early 2000s doing this, which humorously calls out this ubiquitous, now nostalgic trend in 2000s celebrity and band photography. The meme evokes relatable nostalgia for the era's emo/alternative culture, highlighting a silly, shared quirk of the time's media imagery.

Origin notes

This meme originates from the social media platform 9Gag, as specified in the provided additional information. It is a user-created collage, compiling unaltered, original photoshoot images of early 2000s rock/alternative musicians, repurposed to create a humorous, nostalgic meme about a common photography trend from that decade. There is no indication of further editing beyond the collage layout and the added top text; each individual photo is taken directly from its original celebrity portrait session.

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