Tumblr's 'This Is Fine' Meme Controversies

If you want to see internet drama in its purest form, just watch what happens when Tumblr updates anything about a meme that the platform considers “its own.” Few memes are more tangled in Tumblr’s identity than KC Green’s “This Is Fine” dog, and every change or new twist to that meme sparks debate, outrage, and creative energy in equal measure. Today, we’re ranking the top five most controversial “This Is Fine” moments in Tumblr history — from official updates to wild fandom debates and the culture clashes that made the meme what it is. You’ll have opinions on this list, I promise.

Number five: The “This Is Fine” plushie goes to Mars. In February 2021, keen-eyed fans spotted a plush version of Question Hound — the dog from the original meme — at NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission control. The plush was visible on the EDL Operation Lead’s table during the live broadcast, with a front view at 1 hour, 18 minutes, and 48 seconds, and a side view at 1:56:36. The appearance of a meme plush at such a historic, serious event delighted Tumblr, but also divided it. Some users loved the idea of internet culture reaching Mars, while others argued that the meme’s commercialization had gone too far. The meme, which began as a wry, existential joke about denial in the face of disaster, was now a plush toy at a billion-dollar space mission — and for Tumblr’s meme purists, this was proof that “their” meme had been co-opted by the mainstream.

Number four: The 2016 GOP tweet using “This Is Fine.” In July 2016, the official Twitter account for the United States Republican Party posted the first two panels of the “This Is Fine” comic to mock Democratic voters after Hillary Clinton was selected as the Democratic presidential candidate. The meme suggested that Democrats were in denial about the consequences of their party’s decision. KC Green, the webcomic’s creator, publicly expressed his discomfort and asked the GOP to delete the post. Tumblr erupted. Some users said all memes are fair game for political use, but others felt that the comic’s context — a critique of denial in a crisis — had been twisted for partisan gain. The moment also sparked discussion about the rights of artists on the internet, as Green noted it was easier to sell the first two panels than the full strip, but still bristled at seeing his work employed for political trolling.

Number three: The “This Is Not Fine” sequel and its reception. In 2016, KC Green published a follow-up comic on The Nib called “This Is Not Fine.” Instead of calm denial, the dog panics, tries to extinguish the fire, and references the killing of Harambe, the gorilla at Cincinnati Zoo. Tumblr debated whether this sequel ruined the meme by adding too much overt commentary or, conversely, whether Green had reclaimed his narrative from internet remixers. Some users embraced the sequel's rawness and specificity, while others argued that the beauty of the original “This Is Fine” was its open-ended meaning — and that adding explicit references made it less universal. The argument boiled down to: should a meme’s creator ever try to re-steer its meaning after it escapes into the wild?

Number two: The 2024 Burning Man “I’m Fine” installation. Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Sai and the group Ukrainian Witness built a 32-meter-long, 7-meter-high sculpture at Burning Man, spelling out “I’m Fine” with a smiley face, using about 19 tons of war-damaged materials from liberated Ukrainian territories. The connection to “This Is Fine” was intentional; Oli Sai’s team cited the meme as the inspiration, using the ironic calm of the original comic to highlight the contrast between surface composure and wartime trauma. The installation included bullet-riddled street signs, destroyed fences, and broken satellite dishes, assembled by 25 volunteers — some of them active Ukrainian soldiers on leave. Tumblr users debated whether this was a powerful, necessary update of the meme for the world stage, or whether it was too heavy-handed, stripping away the meme’s ambiguity in favor of direct wartime messaging. The debate grew even more intense after Anatoly Tapolsky performed a DJ set at the sculpture using actual recordings of Ukrainians answering “How are you?” Some felt the installation’s emotional weight was exactly what the meme’s legacy needed; others argued it was a sharp break from the meme’s tradition of wry, internalized humor.

Before we hit number one, here’s some context on why this list exists at all. “This Is Fine” started as a 2013 strip in the webcomic Gunshow, showing Question Hound calmly sipping tea in a burning room. The comic was created while KC Green struggled with depression and adjusting his antidepressant dose. The meme’s spread began in earnest in September 2014, when the first two panels hit Reddit and Imgur with the caption “Basically how I’m handling life right now.” Tumblr quickly adopted the meme as shorthand for wry self-awareness amid chaos, but as the meme grew, it stopped belonging solely to its creator — or even to Tumblr. That’s why every update or reinterpretation gets so much scrutiny.

Now, number one: The “This Is Fine” meme’s addition to Fortnite in June 2023, with blessing and collaboration from KC Green. Epic Games made “This Is Fine” an official cosmetic emote in Fortnite: Battle Royale, as part of Chapter 4: Season 3’s Battle Pass. The emote’s addition was directly tied to KC Green, who worked with Epic on the licensing. For many Tumblr users, this was the ultimate commercialization of a once-niche internet in-joke. Some saw it as a victory for the artist — KC Green finally getting paid and credited for his cultural contribution. Others saw it as a sell-out moment, where a meme about existential dread became an item in a virtual shop, used by millions of teenagers who might never know its source. The debate on Tumblr was intense: Is it better for the creator to be compensated and recognized, even if it means the meme loses its underground edge? Or does the meme’s meaning get flattened when it’s packaged for mass-market consumption in one of the world’s most popular video games? In this moment, the “This Is Fine” dog went from being a reluctant mascot of internet anxiety to a global, corporate-backed icon — and that’s a leap that Tumblr’s meme guardians will never stop arguing about.

So, that’s my ranking. Five controversies, each one sparking a wave of posts, art, and arguments on Tumblr and beyond. What did I miss? Did I get the order wrong? Drop your takes and let’s keep the debate burning.