We asked the Muppet performer behind Pepé the King Prawn what he thinks of the viral TikTok meme

The creator and performer behind a 30-year-old Muppet found his character at the center of TikTok’s latest meme obsession — and he has no idea why.

Pepé the King Prawn, created by Yardley’s Bill Barretta, is everywhere on TikTok.

The Pepé meme template goes like this: a low-res photo of the wild-haired ladies’ man (or, technically, crustacean) Muppet from Málaga with a blank, tired stare is coupled with text describing users’ lowest of lows and most embarrassing anecdotes.

The videos are set to a choir rendition of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” The trend took off in late November and now has more than 250,000 entries and millions of views.

Among the most popular examples is Megan Chacalos (@meganchacalos), who recalled a story of wrapping her hair in an olive oil treatment only to slip on an oil trail, knocking herself out, and the chaos that ensued. She’s since been dubbed “Olive Oil Girl” online and has garnered several brand deals, including one with Graza olive oil.

But none of this could happen without Pepé or Barretta, Pepé's dedicated performer and a core member of the Muppet team since 1991.

Barretta and the late puppet builder, Eric Engelhardt, based Pepé off Barretta’s wife Cristina’s late aunt, Maria Teresa, as part of a Muppet character universe expansion. Pepé's first appearance was in 1996 on Muppets Tonight. His heavy Spanish accent, Lothario tendencies, and affinity for ending sentences with “OK?” became a calling card.

As luck would have it, Barretta’s lifelong career as a puppeteer, voice actor, and performer hinged on his time in Bucks County, he told The Inquirer.

When Barretta’s older brother sent a letter to Jim Henson mentioning that he hoped to make Muppets someday, Henson responded with instructions on how to make Muppets at home. It kick-started Barretta’s dream of becoming an actor. The brothers, who would go on to work at the Jim Henson Company together, would put on small productions at home and at local children’s theaters.

In 1981, Barretta took a job at Sesame Place Philadelphia, the Langhorne theme park that opened a year prior. It was there he’d meet Jim Henson, who would visit the park unannounced. Bill also befriended Jim’s son, Brian Henson, who later took over the Jim Henson Company.

“We were both just 17 years old, picking up cigarette butts, cleaning toilets, helping kids on rides,” Barretta recalled of his friendship with Brian Henson. “We became friends over the summer and he went off to college and I was pursuing my acting.”

The pair kept in touch. After Jim Henson died in 1990, leaving Brian to take over the company, the younger Henson called Barretta with hopes of casting him in the ABC show Dinosaurs. “I said I don’t care, I’ll sweep the floors, whatever. I just need to be around the industry,” Barretta recalled telling Henson. He got the gig and would play Earl Sneed Sinclair, the show’s gruff father dinosaur.

“And then, I was invited to come try and be a part of this and to be in this Muppet thing or that,” he said. “Long story short, 30 years later, Pepé the King Prawn … now had this explosion, which is crazy. And I don’t get it, but it’s fun.”

While workshopping Pepé's character in the late 1990s, Barretta loved the idea of creating a character inspired by Tia Maria Teresa, the feisty, mischievous, and sometimes-selfish woman. But while describing her as “selfish” to Muppets writer and director Kirk Thatcher, he slipped and said “shellfish.” That’s how the prawn came to be.

“And I said, not a shrimp but maybe a king prawn, and he’s got an attitude about not being a shrimp,” Barretta said. “I think Pepé added a new spark [to the Muppets], a little bit of naughtiness. The idea that he was a ladies’ prawn — he’s so unattractive but he thinks he’s handsome and can’t imagine women don’t love him. I think people started to get a kick out of it.”

Among fans, Pepé's spice factor continues to resonate. He’s willing to scheme and trick his friends at times, but comes around by the end. He’s certainly no Kermit, but his disheveled quality suits the meme he inspired.

In a red carpet interview earlier this year, renowned puppeteer and filmmaker Frank Oz — the voice of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and other characters, including Star Wars’ Yoda — said Pepé was his favorite Muppet “because he’s annoying and Bill’s so funny.”

As for Pepé's newfound internet fame, the jury’s still out on how it happened or what it means. According to Know Your Meme, the earliest use of the Pepé meme format occurred Nov. 30.

“The TikToks are blown up, OK?” Pepé said recently during a Good Morning America cameo about the meme. “Apparently, 62 millions of peoples [sic] have commented about how incredibly handsome and talented I am, OK? But I’m not surprised, I mean look at me.”

Barretta said he learned about Pepé's new meme format through his wife, who occasionally posts and shares Muppet-related content on her TikTok page.

“My wife Cristina was like ‘Honey, have you seen this thing? You don’t understand, it’s getting a little crazy,’” he recalled. “It’s funny because this is her aunt. Pepé without my wife’s family and bloodline, her cousin’s mom, he doesn’t exist.”

The actor added that he’s still in disbelief over his prawn character’s resonance.

“How sweet that someone used him and people just loved it,” he said. “I can’t believe it.”