Erling Haaland's AI meme face is now real, thanks to MrBeast. It's viral

Erling Haaland just recreated his own viral meme, and it’s hilarious. The Manchester City striker teamed up with MrBeast to bring his famous ‘scared face’ expression to life, with the video crossing 108 million views.

The clip, posted by MrBeast, shows Haaland recreating the now-famous startled expression while sitting down for a meal. MrBeast captioned the video, “scariest meal of my life @erling”, adding to the joke.

The expression will be familiar to anyone who has followed Haaland memes this year. The original viral clip did not actually feature Haaland.

It came from a Chinese comedy skit by performer Jin Long, in which he suddenly flinches while eating. Haaland's face was digitally swapped onto the performer, turning the footballer into an unlikely meme star.

Now, Haaland has done the meme himself with no face swap, no AI and, this time, no mystery about whose startled expression viewers are seeing.

Haaland is one of football's biggest stars, playing as a striker for Manchester City and Norway. Known for his prolific goalscoring, the 26-year-old has already established himself as one of the most recognisable forwards in world football.

On the other side of this rather unexpected collaboration is MrBeast, the online name of American creator Jimmy Donaldson. One of YouTube's biggest stars, he is known for elaborate challenges, huge giveaways and highly produced videos that routinely attract enormous audiences.

The Haaland collaboration is a slightly different kind of MrBeast production. There was no giant challenge or million-dollar prize, just a football superstar recreating the face that the internet had already turned into a meme.

And judging by the 108 million views, the internet was more than ready for the real Haaland meme remake. - EndsPublished By: Published On: Sep 22, 2026 15:55 IST