If you've spent more than five minutes on Twitter (or X, as we're calling it now) during the first Monday in May, you've seen him. A man in a crisp white suit, mid-air, plummeting headfirst down a grand, red-carpeted staircase. The caption is always the same: Jason Derulo falls down stairs at the Met Gala.
It's basically a digital holiday at this point.
The image is chaotic. It looks painful. But here’s the kicker: it’s totally fake. Well, the fall is real, but the person falling is definitely not Jason Derulo. Honestly, it’s one of the most successful pranks in internet history because, despite being debunked a thousand times, people still fall for it every single year. Even in 2026, the meme shows no signs of stopping.
The Origin Story: If It Wasn't Jason, Who Was It?
The photo wasn't even taken at the Met Gala. It wasn't even taken in New York. To find the source of the Jason Derulo falls down stairs mystery, we have to go back to 2011, four years before the meme even existed.
The location was the Cannes Film Festival in France. A man—widely reported to be a professional prankster or stuntman—attempted to gatecrash the red carpet during a ceremony for French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. As security lunged to stop him, he performed a theatrical tumble down the stairs. Photographers captured the moment perfectly.
Then the photo sat in the archives for years. It was just a weird piece of red carpet trivia until a Twitter user decided to create a bit of chaos.
Why the internet chose Jason Derulo
In May 2015, a user with the handle @dashausofjack posted the photo with a simple caption claiming Jason Derulo had just taken a massive spill at the Met Gala. Why him? Nobody really knows. Maybe it was the white suit. Maybe it was just the sheer randomness of it. But it worked.
The tweet went nuclear.
Before long, "Jason Derulo" was trending worldwide. News outlets—the ones that don't check their sources—started reporting on the "accident." It became the defining moment of a night that Jason Derulo wasn't even attending.
Jason’s Actual Reaction (and His Grandma’s Panic)
At the time the meme first broke, Jason was actually in Los Angeles at a rehearsal. He wasn't anywhere near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He eventually hopped on Instagram to clear things up, famously posting: "Lmao I'm at rehearsal in LA. Fuq ya'll! Lol."
But the damage was done.
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He later mentioned in interviews that the rumor got so out of hand his own grandmother called him in a panic. She’d seen the photo on the news and thought her grandson had broken his neck. Imagine having to explain "meme culture" to your 93-year-old grandmother while she thinks you’re in a body cast. Not exactly a fun Tuesday.
The real injury history
What makes the Jason Derulo falls down stairs joke a little bit dark is that Derulo actually did suffer a horrific neck injury in 2012. He was practicing a backflip for his world tour and landed directly on his head, fracturing his C2 vertebra. He could have been paralyzed.
So, when people saw a photo of a man falling headfirst, there was a tiny kernel of "oh no, not again" that made the lie feel plausible to fans who remembered his actual accident.
Why the Meme Refuses to Die
Most internet jokes have the shelf life of an open avocado. They're brown and gross within 48 hours. But this one? It’s immortal.
Every year, like clockwork, the "breaking news" tweets start appearing. It has evolved beyond the Met Gala, too. People have claimed Jason Derulo fell down the stairs at:
- The Oscars
- The Golden Globes
- The Emmys (even when they were held over Zoom!)
- The 2024 Presidential Inauguration
- Various Apple Store grand openings
It's become a tradition. It’s the "Rickroll" of the fashion world. People post it knowing it's fake, and then they watch to see who the "newbies" are that believe it. It’s a litmus test for how long you've been on the internet.
How to Spot a Fake Red Carpet "Fail"
If you're scrolling through your feed and see a celebrity "tragedy," there are a few ways to tell if you're being played before you hit the retweet button.
First, look at the stairs. The Met Gala steps are iconic, but they change every year based on the theme. The "Jason Derulo" photo features very specific white-and-red stairs that don't match the modern Met layouts.
Second, check the outfit. In the era of high-definition cameras, the photo of the "stair fall" looks a bit grainy and dated. That’s because it’s a decade and a half old.
Third, check the celebrity's social media. If they’re posting a "Get Ready With Me" video from a hotel in London while people claim they just fell in New York, you’ve got your answer.
Staying Savvy with Celebrity News
The saga of Jason Derulo falls down stairs is a perfect case study in how misinformation spreads. It’s harmless in this case, sure. It’s just a guy falling in a suit. But it shows how easily a convincing image can override the truth, even when the person involved is screaming "I'm not there!" from the rooftops.
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The next time the Met Gala rolls around, keep an eye out. The white suit will appear. The caption will be "BREAKING." And you'll be the person in the comments explaining that it's actually a guy from 2011 who just really wanted some attention in France.
If you want to stay ahead of these viral hoaxes, the best move is to follow official red carpet livestreams or reputable fashion photographers who are physically on the carpet. Most "breaking" celebrity news from accounts with "Pop" or "Alert" in the name are just looking for engagement. Take a breath, check the date of the photo, and remember that on the internet, Jason Derulo is always falling, even when he's standing perfectly still.
Next Steps for the Savvy Internet User:
- Verify the source: Use Google Reverse Image Search on any "viral" photo to see its original upload date.
- Cross-reference locations: Check the artist's verified Instagram stories for real-time location tags.
- Understand the "Engagement Trap": Recognize that accounts often post debunked memes specifically to trigger "Actually, this is fake" comments, which boosts their visibility in the algorithm.