YouTube Removes Rick Roll Videos!

In a stunning move that is sure to incite protests all over the internet, YouTube has removed all Rickroll videos from their site.

Rickrolling, if you've been living under a rock or otherwise have a life, is the practice of sending a link to a person or persons under the guise of some unrelated matter. When the target of the Rickrolling clicks the link, they find themselves at a YouTube video for "Never Gonna Give You Up," the biggest hit from Rick Astley, a British pop star from the 1980s.

Rickrolling spread through the internet like human papilloma virus and famously crossed into the mainstream when protesters Rickrolled a Scientology center in February 2008.

Personally, I was Rickrolled two or three times before I realized what was happening and naively thanked the perpetrators for sending me links to the video. "Never Gonna Give You Up" was one of my roller skating jams in third grade and I appreciated the dose of nostalgia until I realized that I was an idiot and also that I hated everyone.

You can read YouTube's statement about their stunning decision and sign a petition to reinstate the Rickroll videos here.

Photo source

Tip o' the hat to reddit.com for posting this news item this morning.

Comments

[Snarky Amber]

I cannot fucking believe I fell for that shit.

[veronica]

I've been having a crappy ass day and the fact that I fell for that crap at least put a smile on my face!

[Maxine Dangerous]

Ditto what Amber said. LOL! :)

[sweetney]

kdiddy = DA BOMB.

[kdiddy]

please also note the technorati tags. I put a lot of thought into them.

And now I will go and dance like the mischievous little prick that I am. ;-)

[KimPossible]

I was never rickrolled and I'm feeling like a huge loser right now. Why does everyone omit me? Darn.

[Robyn G]

You know what? I cheated, and saw the comments, and knew I was about to get rickrolled... AND I CLICKED ANYWAY.

I love the rickroll, now and forever.

:::::doing chair dance to the beat::::

[robyn]

dude.

brilliant!

such a great way to perk up my wednesday! i forwarded this article on to like ten people.

[emily]

oh man! i love being rick rolled!

of course, this coming from the woman who is actually nerdy enough to have several print outs of rick astley's face with a multiple choice questionnaire of the things he's "never gonna do" (of course choice g is "all of the above") that I routinely tape to the insides of cupboards, medicine cabinets and the like when my house is lacking in humor.

[le_fey31]

I was laughing so hard at my stupidity that I actually watched the whole video

[Jennifer]

Wow! Thanks for making me look like a moron in front of my husband! LOL!

I read MamaPop on my RSS Reader so I do not see any tags or the comments. So when I told my husband YouTube was removing all the rickroll videos he was all why? We would especial hate to lose this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TiQCJXpbKg
I said I don't know but there is a link to YouTube's statement. So when I ckicked on it and was rickrolled my husband just about wet his pants he was laughing so hard.

[Sourire11]

Yeah I totally just fell for that.

Also I completely jammed to that song at a roller rink, too.

[Backpacking Dad]

Do you know what pepper sauce feels like when it comes out of your nose?

I was so nonchalant about the click, too. Sweetney tweeted the link and I thought "No way!! I must know more!!" And then here was this lovely informative article about it and even a link to YouTube's official statement. "Man, I have to sign that petition. I love RickRolling people. That never gets old!"

Still. Not. Old.

[Lori]

I was THIS close to getting rickrolled here again!! And, this was your rollerskating song in THIRD GRADE?? I am now certifiably an old person. (frowny face).

[sweetney]

i featured the crap out of this -- let's see how many flies we can catch with that sugar :)

[deirdre]

Rick Astley looks like Doogie Howser, M.D.

I love that graphic.

[Amanda]

LOL! Got me.

(I was seriously distressed at that headline and fired up to sign that petition.)

[Heidi]

I'm Robyn G's evil twin: I cheated, too, and still clicked.

The Internet can be turned off now. Miss Banshee wins.

[*pixie*]

Fantastic!

[Sara]

Totally fell for it. What's worse? I was RELIEVED.

[Britt]

Oh thank you so much [/sarcasm]

I had my speakers cranked from an earlier, too quiet video, and when that fine video started my dog left the room.

Mind you, she's way too young to remember the '80s

[Rick Astley's friend]

It's not that funny, people. The main 20 million plus hits Rick Roll video HAS BEEN REMOVED from Youtube. No joke. It's gone. Honest to God, it's been removed.

I think a record label persuaded Youtube to remove it because Astley is up for Best Act Ever at the MTV Europe awards and the main Rick Roll video was promoting him too much. I guess record label pressure got the video removed. A pity.

[sweetney]

Rick Astley's Friend is a killjoy.

And I disagree. STILL FUNNY.

[sweetney]

Rick Astley's Friend is a killjoy.

And I disagree. STILL FUNNY.

[Christy]

Awesome. Just awesome.