The story behind the Tyler, the Creator mugshot meme
The Tyler, the Creator mugshot has become the go-to joke for his fans after he was arrested in 2014 for allegedly inciting a riot. The goofy photo showing the artist with a startled smile in a bright pink shirt has now been amusing lovers of EARFQUAKE and Tyler, the Creator's other hits for over a decade since he was arrested in Austin, TX.
Origin of the Tyler, the Creator Mugshot
Tyler, the Creator's mugshot became a hit meme on March 15, 2014, when it was put out by the Austin Police Department following his arrest at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The rapper was charged with starting a riot at the SXSW festival—a combination film, music, and interactive media celebration — on the previous day.
On March 16, Reddit user BryanBeast13 posted the mugshot on r/photoshopbattles, where fellow Redditors began morphing him into Star Trek characters, historical figures, and other meme figures.
Meanwhile, users in other forums clowned on Tyler as the image spread across various subreddits.
Why did Tyler, the Creator get arrested?
In the days following the mugshot's release, news outlets began reporting on the arrest and charge of riot incitement. Austin police explained that they were blaming him for a dangerous situation at his SXSW concert, when his fans pushed past venue security to cram inside a space that was already at capacity.
While there were already 999 fans inside the gates, Tyler, the Creator allegedly called to those outside while he was on stage, encouraging them to enter.
"All y'all outside the gates, y'all push through!" he said, according to CBS. "Y'all push through, come on!"
A concert bartender reportedly had to protect a woman from injury during the surge, and Austin police officers on the scene were not amused.
"Regardless of the size of a crowd, the encouragement of unruly and unlawful behavior is against the law and cannot be tolerated," they said in a press release on the incident and arrest.
Tyler, the Creator was charged with a Class A misdemeanor and released on a $25,000 bond after the police took the famed mugshot at the station. The maximum penalty for the charge is a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The rapper's response to the mugshot meme
Tyler, the Creator's mugshot meme became such a phenomenon that the artist was later compelled to explain what had happened in an interview, which spread in a viral TikTok video in 2023. The rapper was surprised at the arrest, to say the least, and was in no way expecting to end up at the Austin Police Department instead of on a plane back to Los Angeles.
"I go to the airport two days later, and cops show up like, 'hey, come here,' and put me in handcuffs, and I'm oblivious to, like, why am I...?" he says before he's interrupted by laughter at the sight of his mugshot. "I'm like, 'dude, why am I in handcuffs?"
According to Tyler, even the police at the station who were fingerprinting him were unaware of the charges, and when the artist told them he was there for allegedly starting a riot, they reacted with confusion.
Tyler, the Creator's mugshot Minecraft skin
This meme became popular enough that some fans of both the artist and the hit video game Minecraft began to make skins for their characters that imitated the shirt and expression made iconic by Tyler, the Creator's mugshot. Minecraft players can use simple pixel art to dress up their player characters as anyone they like, and after 2014, people began to spot avatars in bright pink and large, concerned eyes running around.
The newest skin representing the meme appeared on May 6, 2024, and has been downloaded 11 times. Similar skins have also been spotted in Roblox.
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