The 'Pretends To Be Shocked' meme features a visual of pop icon Mariah Carey from her 2012 music video for 'Triumphant (Get 'Em).' In the scene, she lowers her sunglasses and strikes a theatrical pose of surprise, which the internet quickly adopted as the ultimate symbol for insincere or sarcastic reactions. It initially gained massive popularity within 'stan twitter' before crossing over into the mainstream as a universal reaction image. The meme is typically used to mock situations where the outcome was glaringly obvious or when someone tries to act surprised by a fact that everyone already knew.