Mark Zuckerberg found himself at the center of an internet roast after a video of him seemingly “pretending” to enjoy a pint of Guinness went viral.
Viewers dissected every movement, from his stiff body language and pursed lips to the slight recoil after he took a sip.
The clip quickly reignited a long-running internet joke that the Meta CEO is a robot mechanically mimicking human behavior.
Highlights
- Mark Zuckerberg’s awkward sip of Guinness reignited years of jokes about the Meta CEO pretending to be human.
- Viewers dissected his stiff body language and pursed lips, with one joking, “Pretending to be a human is not easy.”
- While the internet roasted his reaction, there may be a much simpler explanation for why the billionaire looked so uncomfortable.
One person quipped, “Being worth all those billions and still feeling obliged to hide you hate something is fantastic.”
Mark Zuckerberg's awkward sip of Guinness has viewers questioning what they just watched
The viral moment came during a recent episode of Cheeky Pint, a technology podcast hosted by Stripe co-founder John Collison.
Mark Zuckerberg appeared alongside Alexandr Wang, Meta's chief AI officer, for a conversation about the company's ambitious artificial intelligence plans.
The premise was simple: discuss technology over a pint.
Zuckerberg even brought a keg of Guinness from Dublin, explaining that he thought it would be a good occasion to get the iconic Irish stout flowing.
But when the camera caught him taking a sip, viewers immediately focused on Zuckerberg's stiff body movements as he lifted the glass, tightened his lips before drinking, and appeared to recoil slightly after tasting the beer.
His expression immediately became meme material, with some viewers convinced he looked more like someone following instructions than someone enjoying a casual drink.
One person joked, “PR Person: ‘Take a good swallow Mark, it’ll make you look like a regular guy’”
Viewers joked that Zuckerberg's robot-like reaction made drinking Guinness look like a “complicated task”
Another viewer wrote, “[He’s thinking] ‘What would a real human do right now?’”
"Zuck is still learning how to do human things," a third user joked.
"He has learned to actually get some in his mouth now, but then new problems start as his mechanical reflexes try to eject it. Pretending to be a human is not easy," another joked.
"The best part is how after the sip he places the pint as far from himself as possible," one comment read.
Others quipped, “His robot brain was processing whether the dark liquid was Coke or coffee. It was neither.”
"I mean if he was a human and not a walking piece of media trained PR then he would've just said he doesn't like it lol."
The mockery wasn't limited to his facial expression; one viewer described the moment the drink reached his mouth as when "this foreign unknown substance hit his lizard brain."
The viral clip revived years of jokes about the Meta CEO “pretending to be human” or being a robot
Mark’s stiff posture and carefully controlled expressions in public appearances have inspired jokes about him being an android, an alien, or a reptilian trying to imitate human behavior for years.
One of the best-known examples came in 2018, when his appearance before US lawmakers during congressional hearings over Facebook's handling of user data sparked the “Robot Zuck” meme.
His rigid posture and carefully timed sips of water became a viral talking point, with viewers comparing him to Data, the android character from Star Trek.
Mark has even addressed the running gag himself.
During a 2022 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan teased him about sipping water like a robot during his congressional testimony.
Zuckerberg laughed, then offered a more ordinary explanation for the clips that fuel the jokes.
“The Senate testimony is not exactly an environment that is set up to accentuate the humanity of the subject,” he said, adding that anyone sitting through six or seven hours of questioning would eventually make a face worth turning into a meme.
Some viewers argued that Zuckerberg's reaction was perfectly normal for someone trying Guinness for the first time
For all the speculation about Zuckerberg's latest behavior, one straightforward possibility remains: he simply didn't enjoy the taste of Guinness at that moment.
The stout has a distinctive flavor profile, with roasted notes reminiscent of coffee and a balance of bitter and sweet flavors.
Its nitrogenation also gives it a smooth, creamy texture that sets it apart from many more sharply carbonated beers.
That does not mean everyone will enjoy their first sip.
Some reports suggest that it takes human beings roughly 8 to 10 exposures to stouts, chili, or coffee before the brain overrides the "spit this out" signal and learns to associate the intense flavor with a pleasant buzz.
“Incredible how every time he tries to do something human, he malfunctions,” one netizen joked
