Personally, I think Astley’s hilariously half-hearted dance moves, along with his sly grin, imbue the video with a mischievous vibe that its creators never intended, making the song perfect for the prank.

Many believe that the meme has endured due to Astley’s unexpectedly deep voice, contrasting with his boyish appearance. The meme grew so popular that it was included in the post-credits scene of a Disney movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet, teasing a 'sneak peek' of Frozen II which transitioned into 'Never Gonna Give You Up.'

The internet “hacktivist” group Anonymous protested the censorship outside of the Church's various headquarters by chanting the song.Īnother public event that spread the popularity of the meme occurred in August 2015, after The Foo Fighters drove past hateful Westboro Baptist Church protesters while blasting the song at full volume, starting a spontaneous dance party.

The prank spread to the mainstream after multiple Rickrolling public events, one of the first involving the Church of Scientology, which had been aggressively attempting to censor videos critical of the church (what a surprise).

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