Josh Hutcherson’s brother and his boyfriend had to explain viral ‘Whistle’ meme to him

Yes, The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson has seen the viral “Whistle” memes, thanks to his younger brother and his boyfriend.

Earlier this week (9 January), 31-year-old Hutcherson, who is currently starring in Jason Statham’s action film The Beekeeper, appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Fallon took a moment to acknowledge that while Josh Hutcherson isn’t an avid social media user, he has still managed to take over the internet – thanks to one slightly strange but endlessly entertaining meme.

The “Whistle” meme began back in 2014, when a fan uploaded a 90-second montage of photos of the star to YouTube, soundtracked to Flo Rida’s earworm hit, “Whistle”.

It’s since become pervasive on social media, cropping up randomly in online videos, similar to Rick Astley “rickrolling” people with the “Never Gonna Give You Up” video meme.

Even US president Joe Biden has been in on the joke, as the Democrat party uploaded a TikTok back in November featuring him drinking from a mug, before Josh Hutcherson’s face appears and “Whistle” begins.

“I had no idea it existed. The internet wins again,” Hutcherson told Fallon when questioned about the meme.

“These photos are some edit of a montage of photos that somebody did in 2014. They put it to a song and now it’s like a Rickroll basically. You think you’re gonna watch a recipe, they open up the pot and it’s my face and the whistle starts. It’s ridiculous,” he laughed.

He added that it was his 27-year-old brother Connor and his boyfriend who explained the meme to him.

“My little brother and his boyfriend actually sat me down during the holidays and were like, OK, you don’t live on the internet, we need to explain this to you’.

“They just started going through [the memes] and they are very creative, very odd, and I’m here for it. It’s great.”

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