Jon Hamm Reveals How He Really Feels About Becoming a Viral Meme (Exclusive)

The meme, a clip taken from Hamm's show, 'Your Friends & Neighbors', began going viral on TikTok last fall

NEED TO KNOW

• Jon Hamm is revealing his true thoughts on his viral dancing meme from a scene in Your Friends & Neighbors, calling it “mystifying”
• The scene shows Hamm closing his eyes and dancing to DJ Kato’s “Turn The Lights Off” in a club
• The clip began going viral on TikTok in the fall of 2025, also boosting the song in popularity

Jon Hamm doesn't mind being memed.

The Mad Men star spoke to PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere of Hoppers on Feb. 23, revealing his thoughts on the viral meme of him dancing in a scene from Your Friends & Neighbors, which he stars in on Apple TV+.

"It wasn't like I got paid for it. It's lovely, obviously. It's nice," said Hamm, 54. "It's certainly nice to be known for something pleasant rather than something negative. I find it mystifying and adorable at the same time, but it's fun."

The scene is taken from season 1, episode 8 of Your Friends & Neighbors, the drama series starring Hamm as Andrew "Coop" Cooper, a disgraced hedge fund manager who begins stealing money from wealthy friends after being fired from his high-paying job.

In the clip, Coop closes his eyes and gets lost in the music of "Turn The Lights Off" by Danish DJ Kato. The clip went viral on TikTok late last year, spawning copycat videos where users closed their eyes and danced like Hamm.

The Landman actor is starring in several upcoming projects. Season 2 of Your Friends & Neighbors premieres April 3, while his new Disney Pixar animated film, Hoppers, opens in theaters on March 6.

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"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a goal of mine ever since I was starting this career a million years ago, to be part of this. It's earned its place in the pantheon, not just of animation, but of storytelling," said Hamm of joining the rarified Disney Pixar canon. "You look at things like Toy Story or WALL-E. This goes on and on and on, and just the amazing care that they take with their stories, and this is a worthy member of that club."

Hamm will reunite with his Mad Men costar John Slattery in the upcoming film Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, where the pair play themselves. The film revolves around a bride-to-be (played by Zoey Deutch) who seeks revenge on her fiancé (Michael Cassidy) after he uses his celebrity “hall pass" to sleep with another woman.

Slattery says it was Hamm who convinced him to sign onto the project. “He actually called me about this and said, ‘David Wayne wrote a script—he wants to send it to you,’ ” Slattery told E! News in January. “I said, ‘Send it.’ I was in Budapest, it was the middle of the night, I was jetlagged. He sent me the script and I read it at one in the morning, then called him back immediately and said, ‘I’m in.’ ”

Hamm and Slattery previously reunited on the 2022 comedy Confess, Fletch and the 2023 true-crime comedy Maggie Moore(s).

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