White House Remembers Slain Gorilla Harambe As A ‘Legend’ On Tenth Anniversary Of Death

BreakingBusinessWhite House Remembers Slain Gorilla Harambe As A ‘Legend’ On Tenth Anniversary Of DeathByConor Murray,Forbes Staff. Murray is a Forbes news reporter covering entertainment trends.Follow AuthorMay 28, 2026, 09:50am EDTToplineThe White House’s X account posted a lengthy tribute to the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla Harambe, whose death in 2016 sparked internet memes, remembering him as a “legend” and “true patriot” in a post that went viral and was criticized as bizarre by some Democratic accounts. Harambe became an internet meme after he was killed in 2016. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)Getty ImagesKey FactsThe White House honored Harambe, who was shot and killed after he grabbed a three-year-old boy who climbed into his Cincinnati Zoo enclosure, as an “icon” of “internet history, American culture, and an entire generation’s timeline.”The post says upon Harambe’s death, “the world stopped scrolling” and “mourned something bigger than a meme,” saying “everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news.”The White House heaped praise on Harambe, saying he symbolizes “loyalty, strength, chaos, unity” and the internet bringing people together “for one cause: never forgetting Harambe.”The post immediately went viral, garnering 10 million views and more than 110,000 likes as of Thursday morning, with some commenters honoring Harambe and others questioning why the White House made such an emotional tribute to the slain gorilla. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elements.video/player.js?cid=62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.body.appendChild(script); }; document.head.appendChild(iframe); const preloadResources...