Man Behind Laughing Guy Meme & KEKW Emote, Juan Joya Borja, Dies

Juan Joya Borja has died at the age of 65. Known to some as "Spanish laugh guy" and El Ristitas for his infectious and viral laugh, the Spanish comedian brought the world both the infamous laughing guy meme and the popular Twitch KEKW emote. According to several reports and local media, Joya died on Wednesday at the Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio and after a long battle with health issues.

Borja's documented health issues began back in September 2020 when he was admitted to the hospital over a vascular problem that led to the amputation of his leg. Roughly seven months later, Joya was transferred from Hospital de la Caridad to the Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio after a sudden relapse of his illness. A few hours later the comedian died due to unspecified complications.

Born in Seville back on April 5, 1956, Joya held many jobs throughout his life -- such as cooking and unloading sacks of cement -- before his career in comedy, which took off in 2000 after he made his first television appearance on Jesus Quintero's show El Vagamundo. However, this wasn't the interview that brought the comedian worldwide attention. That interview didn't happen until 2007 on Jesus Quintero's show Ratones Coloraos. Even then, the interview didn't go viral until years later when the world fell in love with Joya's now-iconic high-pitch, wheezing laugh. Since then, many wrongly-dubbed versions of the interview have gone viral on YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere.

Over the years, Joya's famous interview has been used in the creation of many viral memes from Liverpool's singing of Rickie Lambert to NVIDIA's release of the RTX 3000 Series and 2080Ti. However, the most viral instance of the meme came in 2015 when Apple revealed its latest Macbook.

In addition to a career in comedy, Joya was also an actor, who appeared in commercials, TV, and movies. His CV in television and movies includes: Torrente 3: El protector; El Vagamundo, Canal 2 Andalucia; Ratones Coloraos, Canal Sur Television; El loco de la colina, La1; and El Gatopardo, Canal Sur.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Joya's family and friends during this tragic and difficult time.