'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A series of memes known as the Chopped Chin memes have recently gone viral on Instagram and TikTok. Netizens have dubbed it as the first viral meme of 2025.
It all began in August 2023, when the official Instagram handle of the WNBA team Atlanta Dream shared a video of basketball star Renee Montgomery dancing at a game with her cousin, Angel Wiley. Although the video went viral at the time of posting, it did not give rise to the series of memes until December 2024.
In December 2024, Instagram user @halal_man_2 began making memes using the video. His reels feature the same video accompanied by the track Bring Me Back (Enox Mantano Remix) by Miles Away and popular motivational or inspirational quotes. The trend soon became viral on the internet with the video making it to everyone's Instagram reels algorithm.
Netizens soon dubbed the series of memes as the Chopped Chin series of memes due to the appearance of Montgomery's cousin in the video. In this context "chopped" is a slang used to denote "ugly." It seemingly refers to the sharp appearance of Wiley's face in the video.
The term chopped chin is also often used to refer to @halal_man_2's account on Instagram. Several gimmick accounts, including one called choppedchinfan, have also come up that share the same template of memes with the same video.
When Chopped Chin guy Angel Wiley spoke about the viral series of memes
The Chopped Chin series of memes gained attraction online due to WNBA star Renee Montgomery's cousin, Angel Wiley, and his dance in the video. The original video features Wiley dancing alongside his cousin. His sharp jawline seemingly led to the nickname.
On January 3, Angel Wiley himself addressed the viral series of memes on TikTok (username Jr_r3cords) and X. The Chopped Chin man said he had seen the viral memes all over the internet and noticed netizens asking him to recreate the dance and the nod in the original video.
"You know who I am. I see them. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie to you okay. The group chats I see it all okay. I'm not a liar. Do the dance, do the dance, do the dance -- do the nod, do the nod -- No," Wiley said.
Further, Wiley said he would not recreate his dance from the original video unless he reaches a certain number of streams on his upcoming EP, Algorithm. He added:
"But I will do it under one condition. I am about to drop an EP called Algorithm. Four songs. Four songs that need a combined 21K streams and I will do the dance. Simple. I will do the nod, I will do the dance. Until then, I will not acknowledge it at all. You don't even know if I will see it."
Wiley added that the original song he was vibing to in the video was not by Miles Away and said:
"And I will actually show you all the real song that was supposed to be too. Not that one, no. It was a Kirk Franklin song. Thank you. CC out bro. Y'all be safe."
Angel Wiley's cousin, Renee Montgomery, is a former WNBA player and is the current vice president, investor, and co-owner of the team Atlanta Dream. She is also one of the three owners of FCF Beasts Indoor Football Team. Her playing career lasted from 2009 to 2019, during which she won two WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx in 2015 and 2017.
