The weirdest, awkwardest, most random part of the 2017 Oscars is decidedly the tour bit that made some people laugh and others feel uncomfortable. But the overriding feeling most of us are feeling in the wake of that sketch? A deep love for Gary from Chicago.
Jimmy Kimmel brought out a supposedly unsuspecting group of Hollywood tourists, who appeared shell-shocked to realize that they had just been escorted into the middle of the Oscars. The tourists gawked at the scene around them, whipped out their phones, and shook hands with A-listers as Kimmel awkwardly escorted them along the front row.
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Whether or not the bit was actually real or scripted is currently being debated by a few on Twitter. (Where else?) The rest of Twitter, though, is celebrating Gary.
Who is Gary, you ask? He is the charming, wonderful gentleman who quickly became the star of the evening with his baseball cap and glorious, gigantic basketball shorts. As one person put it on Twitter, "gary's shorts is the only appropriate way to end black history month." He dutifully carried his fiancee Vicky''s purse the entire time. Gary snapped some amazing selfies while making even more amazing facial expressions for us all to enjoy. He also did that very dad thing where he sticks his tongue out of the side of his mouth slightly while concentrating on a tricky youth thing, like taking a photo on an iPhone.
LUCKIEST tourists EVER! @jimmykimmel brought them into the #Oscars and met a bunch of stars. #Hollywood pic.twitter.com/RfVku5DZpO
— Aaron Rich (@AaronRichOnAir) February 27, 2017
Gary shook hands with the likes of Mahershala Ali, Halle Berry, and Denzel Washington (who, per Kimmel's suggestion, may or may not be officiating Gary's wedding this summer). In fact, Gary was mostly just interested in meeting Black actors, a fact that he did not deny when Kimmel called him out. "I feel like you're ignoring all the white actors!" he said. "Yeah, I am," #GaryFromChicago replied, becoming a hero to thousands if not millions in the process.
In short, Gary deserves the tweet-storm and instant meme-ification that his appearance has sparked. (Some are calling him the new Ken Bone, but we have high hopes that Gary will fare better than him.) So bravo, Gary, and congratulations on winning the Oscars this year. But also, shout out to your scene-stealing fiancee, her selfie stick, and the look on her face when she met Ryan Gosling.
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Gary, Oscar & Mahershala! #Oscars pic.twitter.com/BghTbtzqba
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) February 27, 2017
"I have evidence Trump & Russia rigged the election." #Oscars pic.twitter.com/3SW0EnDZzj
— Diane N. Sevenay (@Diane_7A) February 27, 2017
gary's shorts is the only appropriate way to end black history month
— Rembert Browne (@rembert) February 27, 2017
Gary from the tour bus carrying his fiance's purse at the Oscars is my Halloween costume this year.
— Sam Sanders (@samsanders) February 27, 2017
gary from chicago is helping us close out black history month right pic.twitter.com/Kh7T0DeKrK
— Ziwe (@ziwe) February 27, 2017
And, the Oscar goes to Gary from Chicago! #oscars pic.twitter.com/t6WMXhiiFo
— DJ GT aka GT MAYNE (@GTMAYNE) February 27, 2017
The Best Tourists Award goes to: Vicky & Gary #Oscars pic.twitter.com/hpns3yH90Y
— Natasha Del Riego (@natashaaa__) February 27, 2017