That buzzing you heard last night (Oct. 7) was the sound of everyone watching the vice presidential debate between Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence losing their minds when a common housefly landed on Pence’s head and parked there for more than two minutes.
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In a 90-minute showdown that was, for the most part, much more civilized than the first presidential debate last week, the candidates mostly stuck to the serious topics. But, seriously, did you see that fly?
The jokes came at internet speed, with the fly locking down his own Twitter handle within minutes and one-liners flooding the zone so hard that more serious topics — like Russian election interference and what Harris said was the Trump administration’s botched response to the COVID-19 pandemic — were quickly swatted to the side.
Shortly after the debate, “The Fly” was a trending topic on Twitter with more than 400,000 tweets shared within hours.
Speaking of swatting, Democratic candidate Joe Biden piled on just three minutes after the debate ended with a rapid-response fundraising appeal that featured a picture of the former two-term veep wielding a fly swatter and the message “Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly.” And that was just the beginning. The fly-by racked up hundreds of posts overnight, with musicians, actors, comedians and other celebs putting their spin on the random insect invasion that distracted us all.
Check out some of the best fly gags below from stars such as Foo Fighters, Sara Bareilles, LL Cool J, Chance the Rapper and Adam Rippon, as well as less-famous-but-still-funny people on Twitter, below.
https://t.co/sOehFv3IJx pic.twitter.com/XeGm7hIQN9
— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) October 8, 2020
The fly the fly the fly
— Sara Bareilles (@SaraBareilles) October 8, 2020
— LLCOOLJ (@llcoolj) October 8, 2020
ITS A FLY ON HIS HEAD
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) October 8, 2020
I haven’t loved a fly this much since David Cronenberg turned Jeff Goldblum into one.
— Darren Criss (@DarrenCriss) October 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/KekePalmer/status/1314027494589292549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1314027494589292549%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marieclaire.com%2Fpolitics%2Fa34307197%2Ffly-mike-pence-hair-vp-debate%2F
That fly cured my depression
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) October 8, 2020
The fly says a lot.
— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) October 8, 2020
This fly found the garbage pic.twitter.com/LFA2GkCAXO
— Adam Rippon (@AdamRippon) October 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/oranicuhh/status/1314027890929885184
That fly is an American hero.
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) October 8, 2020
That fly knew bullshit when it smelled it.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) October 8, 2020
You know what’s really FLY?! 🦟 Making sure you’re ready to vote!
Check your registration status & make a plan to vote ➡️ https://t.co/Q4CafyRDiF pic.twitter.com/3NxIj5MyP7
— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) October 8, 2020
Unfortunately, a fly got more air time during the #VPDebate than LGBTQ issues did.
— GLAAD (@glaad) October 8, 2020
The fly now has covid. #Debates2020
— Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) October 8, 2020
Pence had a fly on his hair helmet! Gotta change that hairspray babe! It’s the first time women have ever looked at Pence’s fly! pic.twitter.com/3fSqwpxk6j
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) October 8, 2020
Fun science fact: flies vomit on whatever they land on. Okay, back to the issues! #VPDebate
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) October 8, 2020
EWWWWWWWWW that fly has Mike Pence on his stomach. #VPDebate
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) October 8, 2020
This fly is the equivalent to a poop nugget falling out of his pants mid debate. It says it all. It’s Trump throwing paper towels. It’s Trump saying shithole countries. It’s Trump staring at an eclipse. It’s Trump getting spanked by Stormy Daniels after his wife gives birth. pic.twitter.com/BvqZmNrRXa
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) October 8, 2020
Not to be outdone, next Thursday Donald plans to regurgitate 10,000 deer ticks. #VPDebate
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) October 8, 2020
I wish I was backstage just so I could hear this exchange:
“How’d I do? What are people saying?”
“There was a fly on your head for a really long time. It’s mostly that.”— Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) October 8, 2020
I’m a pretty fly on a white guy. pic.twitter.com/MUanjw1LHT
— FlyOnMikePence (@FlyOnMikePence3) October 8, 2020
*Relatively normal debate*
WAIT IS THAT A FLY#VPDebate pic.twitter.com/91qXG2Bd5r
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) October 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/KwanWho/status/1314033930010587137
Kamala/Fly 2024
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) October 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/MikePenceFly___/status/1314032690274816000