Lao O
Basic Information
Term Name
Lao O
Other terms
Dai o, Lao o, Lao o, the "Lao" generation
Term Origin
Old o
Lao Ois a term used on the Chinese internet for figures who fit specific characteristics.
Introduction
“Lao OThe title "..." is derived from "Lao (Old) o". Adding "Lao" before a name was originally meant to express respect or intimacy. If the person addressed as "Lao o" has aPersecutiontendency to be [imprisoned] for various reasons, "Lao (Old)" is replaced with thesimilar in pronunciationbut more comical "Lao" (Prison), indicating they should be imprisoned or are as if they were in prison.
Similar to "Lao o", there is also the practice of replacing "Da" (Big) with "Dai", such as "Dai Ge", "Dai Mingxing", and "Dai Eren".“Dai Dai Da Shi Xiong”etc., commonly found inAbstract Talkamong them.
Origin
The most popular use of the term "Lao o," and also the currentlyinternet's most widely recognized origin, comes from the late former NBAbasketballAthleteKobe Bryant。
When Kobe was still alive, hisFansfans (commonly known as "Ke Mi") had conflicts with fans of other players for many years due to various reasons. Kobe was affectionately called "Lao Da" (Boss) by his fans, but because he was once involved in a legal dispute in Eagle County and for the four times he, during games,elbowedother players and was suspended, he was therefore, by some of Kobe'santi-fanscalled "Lao Da", meaning "inprisoncan even be the boss inprison”.
In 2020, because Kobe'shelicoptercrashed and he passed away, there was widespread mourning and regret on the internet. However, because some Kobe fans (or passers-by who don't watch basketball but have heard of him and mourned for social reasons) mourned him inappropriately everywhere, combined with years of resentment between Kobe fans and other players' fans, some annoyednetizensas well as fans who already hated Kobe, began to fabricate memes about Kobedark joketo fight back. The nickname "Lao Da" (Prison Boss), along with other Kobe-related anti-memes, spread virally.
Since 2023, with a large number of fan-made videos about the "Lao Da" meme going viral on Bilibili, and because most Kobe fans have lost their voice online, and information cocoons cause non-basketball fans to be pushed almost exclusively negative content about Kobe, various Kobe-related anti-memes have almost becomeThe general trendand even gainedKYimmunity. A small number of Kobe fans and passers-by who loathe hell jokes can only accept reality or face even greater verbal abuse when fighting back. By now, this nickname and its associated series of memes have escaped the basketball circle. Memes that were originally intended to satirizeBratand became popular have insteadspawned the birth of more brats, moving towards another extreme.
Although Kobe's suspension due to multiple elbowing incidents in games is a factual event, whether he truly committed illegal acts in the Eagle County incident is more of a subjective judgment used by fan groups to attack each other, and there is still no clear objective conclusion to this day.
Derivatives
- With thedark jokewidespread dissemination and abuse, some netizens have begun to use "Lao o" to mock or maliciously attack any deceased or living figures who may be facing major crises[1]figures, as well as controversial figures. Some have even started replacing "Lao" (old) with "Lao" (prisoner) in daily conversations.
- Some netizens dug up a promotional photo of Kobe from his seasons, smiling against a blue background and wearing the Lakers' yellow No. 24 jersey. Due to the color scheme, this photo is often jokingly called "Iced Black Tea." Some people also take various characters'[2]hairstyles, clothing, and other characteristics and Photoshop them onto Kobe's photo (or vice versa, Kobe's face onto characters), or Photoshop them with various Master Kong brand drinks like Iced Black Tea, accompanied by text like: "Miss you, Lao o," "Children, oooo," "Things have come to this, pick a drink," etc.
Kobe's NBA promotional photo (2015-2016 season) is the most common material for persecution 
- Internet users who enjoy this meme often use the aforementioned Photoshopped images as their profile pictures and change their usernames to "Lao o" or other related terms.
- Some users also make the aforementioned Photoshopped images into low-effort videos where the main content is just Kobe-related Photoshopped images (similar toBB Theater). The background music for these videos is mainly the character elements in the image'srelated music sped up and pitch-shifted,or a more general sped-up and pitch-shifted version of "See You Again"[3]Even music that originally had a serious or sad mood becomes very "grass" (hilarious) after being sped up and pitch-shifted, so it is often used in these types of videos.
- Elements that easily attract
meme-making（ ）includehelicopter, helicopter crashes,elbowedetc., as well as various unwarranted associations related to the above elements: such as calling a simple fall from a height a "helicopter crash," or calling various close-range strikes "elbow strikes." Content featuring the elements below (such as sound effects similar to "man") also easily triggers unwarranted associations. - Some characters with similar appearances or elements have also suffered reputational damage and earned the nickname "Lao Da," such asYoung Ay、Sikong Zhenetc.
- From late 2025 to early 2026, AI video compilations starring Kobe Bryant became popular, mainly featuring young netizens using Kobe's voiceand elbowsto express dissatisfaction with current outdated customs and bad habits, such as "Lao Da Sanctions Relatives During New Year," "Lao Da Sanctions Bratty Kids," "Lao Da Rectifies the Marriage Market," "Lao Da Rectifies the Workplace," etc. The content involves Kobe responding with sharp words after being picked on, or performing exaggerated actions to mock them, eventually ending with destroying the scene and/or an elbow strike[4](children are exempt from elbowing). Additionally, there are videos that use Kobe's voice to deliver alternative "chicken soup for the soul," with values usually leaning towards anti-involution, maintaining a peaceful mind, etc.
- Other Kobe quotes or memes and catchphrases related to hell jokes are also mentioned in contexts involving "Lao [X]", such as:
Some common related terms and derivative memes - Hmph, trying to escape? / Lightning Cyclone Slash: From the animated series produced by Bluearc, "RoboWarriors: Lolo's Adventure" and its remake "Wu Zhan Dao", which is the ultimate move of the Motorbot character Tornado (renamed "Ni Feng Xuan" in Wu Zhan Dao). The move involves slashing the opponent with dual blades (actually helicopter rotors). Since Tornado can transform into a helicopter, it wasBaidu Tieba“dark jokeBar" netizens established a connection with Kobe's helicopter crash, leading to the creation of hilarious photoshopped images of Kobe's head on Tornado's body. This made "Lightning Cyclone Slash" and Tornado's line "Hmph, trying to escape? Lightning Cyclone Slash!" common early jokes about the crash. Later, with the rise of other memes like "Man! What can I say? Mamba out" mentioned below, this meme has gradually been forgotten.
- King of Endur-o: Taken from a remote-controlled toy helicopter called "King of Durability" (Nai Shuai Wang). Since Kobe died in a helicopter crash, "King of Durability" became a derogatory nickname for him. This also led to characters called "Lao [X]" often being given the nickname "Nai [X] Wang" to mock some tragic situation they encountered.
- I have no objection: Originates from a hell joke-style catchphrase used to approve of hell jokes: "The (deceased) person themselves has no objection." The speaker often has Kobe as their profile picture or username.
- Salute to the legendary [X]: [Y]：[citation needed], later some people applied this sentence to sarcastically refer to Ara Zobayan, the pilot responsible for the helicopter in Kobe's crash, as the "Legendary Pilot," creating the phrase "Salute to the legendary pilot: Zobayan." Derivative usage involves replacing "Legendary Pilot" with other professions and "Zobayan" with relevant figures in those professions.
- Children, oooo: After Kobe's passing, a group of people keen onfishing、impersonationwould change their avatars and nicknames to Kobe and post comments such as "Children, I'm back" or "Children, this isn't funny" in discussions related to Kobe and hell jokes. This caused sentence structures starting with "Children" to become associated with the meme, often serving as titles for low-effort videos. However, thisis not an actual quote from Kobe。
- oo did it too: Originates from "Shaq did it too," and similarlyis not an actual quote from Kobeit is a phrase adapted from Kobe's words and actions by netizens. "Shaq" refers to basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, who was Kobe's teammate on the Lakers, collectively known as the "OK Duo." During the "Eagle County incident" controversy, Kobe, in a moment of desperation during questioning, claimed he should have just paid his way out like O'Neal. This was distilled by Chinese netizens into "Shaq did it too," suggesting Kobe was trying to drag Shaq down with him. As a catchphrase, it is often used to express shifting blame or dragging others into trouble, or it is applied to characters performing meme-worthy actions (such as elbowing, crashing, etc.) without actual meaning.
- Man! What can I say? Mamba out.(Guys, what else can I say? Looks like the Mamba is heading out...): From Kobe's speech after his final game before retirement on April 14, 2016. However, "Man" and the following part are not actually connected; "Man" was the opening of the speech, while the latter was the closing.
- Previously, some peopletranslated via AI toolsThis sentence would be displayed as "Man! What canned food I say? Mamba go out," and this version has also circulated online as a parody variation of the original quote.
- For female characters who encounter misfortune, some netizens rewrite "Man" as "Woman" to mock them. Meanwhile, "Mamba out" is also sometimesa mondegreenechanged to "Maomao" (Kitty) to mock unfortunateCatgirl、cat boysand other cat-themed characters. Of course, "Mamba" can also be replaced with the name of the character being mocked.
- Perhaps for the sake of typing convenience, high summarization, and emphasizing the key point, most netizens now sometimes use just a single "Man" to play with the meme.
- Have you seen oo at 4 AM?: Originates from Kobe Bryant's response to a reporter's question, "Why are you so successful?" during an interview for the Icon Award at the ESPYS: "Have you seen Los Angeles at 4 AM? I see it all the time because that's when I start training." Kobe's quote was originally intended to express his hard work in training from dawn to dusk, but the sentence structure was later often parodied, such as replacing "Los Angeles" with other place names, or being mentioned in contexts mocking Kobe or Los Angeles.
- Mamba Year: Originates from the Nike advertisement tribute to Kobe released in early 2025, titled "This is not the Year of the Snake, it's the Year of the Mamba", which was frequently criticized by Chinese netizens because the slogan involved profiting off the deceased and showed a lack of respect for traditional ChineseZodiacculture[5]as well as for its awkward visuals. Since plane crashes happened to be relatively common news events that year, troublemakers would mockingly comment in the comment sections of plane crash reports in some countries (especially the US), saying "The Mamba Year is exerting its power / still exerting its power /Chasing me”.
Related Feedback
Due to the widespread popularity and unfriendly inherent meaning of the related meme,unrestrainedlyusing Kobe-related hell jokes, including "Lao o", will cause resentment and criticism from others, or result in a certain degree of disciplinary measures:
- Some online content creators offlineunrestrainedlyplaying memes led to their accounts being banned[6]；
- Some online platforms (such as Hupu) have releasedofficial announcements, explicitly banning memingunrestrainedlyagainst Kobe;
- Some short video platforms have also taken down or restricted traffic for content containing insulting photoshopped images or malicious adaptations of the crash footage.
Usage Examples
- Lao Li————《Persona 3》Protagonist / Makoto Yuki
- Also known as "Dui Zhang" (taken from his role as the field commander of the P3 protagonist group), he is a major source of the "Lao o" wave in ACG. To prevent humanity from approaching Nyx, he unleashed his full potential at the cost of his own life, performing theGreat Seal。His soul was eternally hung upon the moon.
- It was first started byBaidu Tiebathe "Persona Bar," and is currently believed to be the earliest wave of large-scale photoshopping character heads onto Kobe Bryant's photos. At the time whenPersona 3 Reloadwas announced, someone uploaded a photo of Kobe photoshopped with Makoto Yuki's hair to the forum, which led to other characters being photoshopped as well, subsequently spreading to the entireShin Megami Tensei series, and then spreading to other ACG works.
- At the same time, by analogy, other characters in thePersonaseries (despite not all of them being dead) also received similar nicknames, such asFan Zhou(Taken from the nickname of the Persona 4 protagonist, Yu Narukami, "Bancho")[7]、Zhou-ker(Taken from the codename of the Persona 5 protagonist, Ren Amamiya, Joker)[8]etc. The scale is so large that it is even called the "Lao Da Incident."
- Lao Shi————《Jujutsu Kaisen》Gojo Satoru
- A homophone for "Teacher" (Laoshi), corresponding to Satoru Gojo's status as a teacher at Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College. He was sealed in the Prison Realm for a long time, and after breaking out, he confidently withRyomen SukunaSukuna agreed to a final battle. During the battle, while he had a significant advantage, he was suddenly by SukunaScripted deathabruptly defeated, sufferingin halfand died
being turned into two 2.5-jo Satorus, and was thus victimized.
- A homophone for "Teacher" (Laoshi), corresponding to Satoru Gojo's status as a teacher at Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College. He was sealed in the Prison Realm for a long time, and after breaking out, he confidently withRyomen SukunaSukuna agreed to a final battle. During the battle, while he had a significant advantage, he was suddenly by SukunaScripted deathabruptly defeated, sufferingin halfand died
- Lao Cai————《Plants vs. Zombies 3》Bonk Choy
- In the 3rd generation (2024 version), in an environment where plants are generally weak, the designers gave Bonk Choy surprisingly generous stats, making any level where Bonk Choy is usable not particularly difficult. Coincidentally, when the 3rd generation (2024 version) was released, the "Lao o" meme was trending. Perhaps in some people's eyes, Bonk Choy's heroic posture overlapped with a certain "Lao o", or perhaps levels without Bonk Choy were so torturous that people cried out "I miss you, Lao o"... In short, Bonk Choy got this nickname... (This meme likely originated from a well-known PVZ uploaderMFい's mouth)[9]
- Actually, in the new 3rd generation, due to controversies in game design and the high degree of stitching of abstract memes, some powerful plants can be given the "Lao" prefix, for exampleLao Li、Lao Guetc.
- Lao Gang————《Kamen Rider Gotchard》Spanner Kurogane
- Because "Kamen Rider Gotchard" aired when the "Lao o" meme was trending, he becameTokusatsuThe earliest character in the series who can be traced back to being called "Lao o." He was the second character on the protagonist's side to transform in this work, but his initial transformation,Valvarad,was not a Kamen Rider by setting but a special warrior. Therefore, afterRinne KudobecameKamen Rider Majade, after being officially confirmed as the true secondary Rider of the series, and becomingKamen Rider Valvaradlater than Rinne, Kurogane also lost his status as the "secondary Rider" in this work.
- On the other hand, as enemies grew stronger in the middle of the story, Kurogane began to frequentlysuffered a setback, and after the rookie protection period ended, he rarely had any victories. This mysteriously aligns with the "Secondary Rider Defeat Law" (the trope that secondary Riders often suffer defeats easily) of the Rider franchise. Consequently, Kurogane was unfortunately nicknamed "Lao Gang" by the audience,
as he "didn't have the fate of a secondary Rider but caught the secondary Rider's disease."。 - Later plot developments revealed that Kurogane's background was extremely tragic (his parents were... byGeryon_killed, and even repeatedly resurrected and tormented by the Angel Malgam), making Kurogane a truly tragic character, causing the nickname "Lao Gang" to evolve from initial mockery and ridicule into a title with a hint of sympathy.
- Kurogane's catchphrase "That joke isn't funny" can basically be deconstructed into "Kids, this isn't funny," and the "
Gekiocopter（ ） Level 4Ride Chemy Card（ ） " used in the show not only has helicopter elements, but alsosuffered a setback（ ）segments, and the derivative form "Angelcopter（ ）" not only has helicopter elements but also angel elements. - Due to factors such as his aloof persona in the show, his "jobbing" moments, and actor Fujibayashi Yasunari's contrasting personality off-screen, many viewers expressed that they feel like laughing as soon as they see Kurogane's face.
- Lao Shun————《Azur Lane》Fushun
- As fellow members of the Four Heavenly Kings,Anshan、ChangchunandTaiyuanreceived retrofits one after another, with the sole exception of Fushun. Consequently, many players joked that "Fushun is still on her Great Adventure."
- Perhaps noticing this, the developers added numerous lines related to "Great Adventures" in subsequent event stories featuring Fushun.
- Additionally, in real life, Fushun was the only one of the Four Heavenly Kings that was not preserved after decommissioning and was instead scrapped[10], which further fueled the "persecution" memes.
- In 2025,the announcement for Fushun's retrofit was released, bringing an end to the year-long "persecution" she faced for not having a retrofit.
- Lao Gong————《Honkai: Star Rail》"Duke Inferno" Afrit
It is not a homophone for "husband" (laogong), but is derived from his title "Duke Inferno."Afrit is a member of the "Destruction" factionAnnihilation Gangand the leader of the Ever-Flame Mansion. After receivingPenacony'sinvitation to the "Charmony Festival," he gathered his progeny, attempting to destroy and occupy Penacony. Before departing, he grandiosely declared war on the various galactic factions arriving at Penacony (the official team even released a dedicated PV for them), but before he could even set out, he wasAcheronkilled by, and his subordinates scattered like birds and beasts.- In fact, the Annihilation Gang's experiences and settings in the game already exuded a strong "clown" vibe, contributing many jokes within the player community. Among them, Afrit, as the most well-known member of the Annihilation Gang, has received the most ridicule.
- Lao Guang————《Gakuen Idolmaster》Hiro Shinosawa
- In her setting, Hiro Shinosawa looks extremely malnourished and has very poor physical stamina; even a bit of physical training can leave her looking half-dead. Therefore, she also has the nickname "Skeleton Soldier."
- Hiro Shinozawa's first SSR in the game outputs damage by sacrificing HP to stack shields for a late-game burst. However, if key cards don't appear early or damage cards are missing late-game, it's very easy to fail and "sit in prison."
- Possessing a similar mechanismand because the voice actressAyane Matsudawas on hiatus for a period and had no story voices,'sUme Hanamisometimes also hasthe title of "Lao Mei".But Lao Mei is a physical monster...
- Lao Jiumen————《Honor of Kings》
- A homophone of the TV series "The Mystic Nine," it originated from the "Honor of Kings" streamer "Qiannian." During a livestream in late 2024, he was asked by a viewer: "Are there any simpler yet strong heroes you can recommend?" He then recommended nine "T0.5 tier overpowered heroes"[11], namely the "Lao Jiumen."
- Nowadays, "Lao Jiumen" is often used as a general term for nine heroes in the game (who were once very strong but were laternerfed, or haven't received enoughbuffsand cannot keep up withpower creepresulting in) characters with weak strength and a "prison-like" gameplay experience, which has spread to player groups of other games to some extent. As long as specific conditions are met and nine characters can be gathered, every game can potentially summarize its own "Nine Prison Gates." However, with the development and changes of the internet, there have also been cases where nine strong characters are put into a 3x3 grid with their only weakness entered in the text box; in some cases, the one with almost no weaknesses is placed in the center, with the text box saying "Please enter text”.
- In addition, the sentence structure used by "Qiannian" to recommend the "Nine Prison Gates," "Yes brothers, yes, there's certainly more than one such powerful hero, there are nine in total," has also been transformed into a popular Chinese internet catchphrase "Yes brothers, yes, there's certainly more than one such oo xx”.
- In Prison (Lao Nei)————《Earth Online》Tengyang Tianxia
- Teng Yang Tian Xia, online ID Shiny Ruo, a "League of Legends" professional player and game streamer. For the crime of opening a casino, he was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 50,000 yuan. At the end of his last stream the day before his arrest, while playing his final game of FIFA, he scored a last-minute winner with a long shot by Kevin De Bruyne in the stoppage time of the second half of extra time, exclaiming "WOC, De Bruyne, what a handsome long shot!". Since the most widely circulated clip of this stream starts exactly with the sound "Lao Nei" (the end of De Bruyne's name), and because "Lao Nei" is homophonous with "Lao Nei" (in prison), "Lao Nei" became a meme to tease Shiny Ruo.
- On July 29, 2023, Shiny Ruo completed his sentence and was released from prison in Hefei, Anhui. On the day of his release, netizens also used "Lao Wai" (outside prison) as a counterpart to "Lao Nei" (inside prison) to make jokes under related videos of Shiny Ruo's release.
Notes and External Links
- ↑ Such as encountering accidents, being detained, or having an account banned.
- ↑ Initially, the meme mainly targeted various figures often referred to as "Lao-o"; nowadays, almost any character (regardless of whether they are frequently called "Lao-o") can be memed in this way.
- ↑ Although this song itself was written to commemorate actor Paul Walker, it became associated with Kobe because the singer was invited to Staples Center to perform it, starting the trend of mourning Kobe.
- ↑ Due to technical limitations, it is often manifested as boxing or "hitting the cow from across the mountain" effects.
- ↑ The forced use of "Mamba" instead of "Snake" in the advertisement title is considered the fuse that triggered this controversy. Some believe that adopting a compromise like "this year is both the Year of the Snake and the Year of the Mamba" might have lessened the controversy.
- ↑ Zuiwo Fusheng. Progress on the Kobe crash parody incident at the comic convention: Coser officially banned, public condemnation continues.. Tencent News. 2024-06-07 [Retrieved on: 2025-07-06].
- ↑ It is worth mentioning that in Japanese, the word "番長" is exactly what "boss" means. In P4U, Yu's title is usually translated as "Steel Sister-Complex Bancho/Steel Sister-Loving Boss," which led to the nickname "Steel Sister-Loving Lao Da."
- ↑ In fact, photoshopping Ren Amamiya onto Kobe's photos happened even before Makoto Yuki, and Ren actually did go to jail.
- ↑ Although Bonk Choy has never been in a plane crash, in the same series' work "Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville," there is indeed a plot where he drives a train off a cliff. Although players cannot directly see "Lao Cai" after falling off the cliff, given the mechanic that players also die if they fall, "Lao Cai" in there is likely gone. This plot point is also used to make "Lao Cai" memes,See here for details。
- ↑ The second ship is the Taiyuan. Due to long-term mooring, seawater erosion, natural aging, and other factors, the hull structure was severely corroded and the facilities were old and damaged, posing significant safety hazards, leading to its dismantling. The dismantling work began on February 24, 2026.
- ↑ Refers toYang Jian、Dharma、Sikong Zhen、Lu Bu、Li Xin、Yuan Ge、Guan Yu、Meng TianandCharlotte。