Split image: Sarah Paulson in American Horror Story, Paulson in a meme featuring a scene from AHSSarah Paulson is a wildly popular actor whose breakout roles on Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story earned her a place as a household name. Her crying face sends two messages to whoever sees it: Some serious acting is about to go down, and some fantastic memes are about to be created.
Sarah Paulson has some iconic scenes in American Horror Story, and all of her specially crafted facial expressions make for wonderful meme material. There are countless amazing Sarah Paulson memes, but these ones are too good not to share.
Dropping Hints
People like to think that they know how to play it cool, but sometimes efforts to be nonchalant come off as anything but. Sarah Paulson's American Horror Story character Audrey may not be very likable, but this meme user her iconic AHS line to say what a student in the last class of the day wants to say: "Get me out of here!" Any student (or former student) knows the school day is endless and drags on after lunchtime. When school is in session, the eyes of teenagers across the country will be screaming come 2pm.
All Dolled Up
Sometimes hours can go into concocting the perfect outfit and applying the perfect smoky eye. It can be super stressful to get ready to see real-life people (especially when many people have been cooped up at home). After having the entire evening devoted to getting hyped to socialize, it can feel like a total stab to the chest when your friends suddenly change plans.
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This Sarah Paulson freeze frame of being totally ready to go, complete with shades, with all plans canceled highlights the curse of being the friend who's always on top of their to-do list and likes to run early to things.
#NoSleep
The COVID-19 pandemic turned many people's lives, including their sleep schedules, upside-down. A lot of early birds became avid night owls with nothing to do but stay home and look at memes and TikTok videos until the sun came up. With things attempting to go back to normal — workers returning to offices to do their jobs, children reporting to school again, etc. — it'll become necessary for a lot of these newly transformed night owls to start sleeping during normal hours again. Yet sometimes that's easier said than done. Sally McKenna, one of the best female characters in American Horror Story, definitely got the all-nighter memo. Sometimes the late-night memes are the funniest.
#Filter
After countless years of being the best part of American Horror Story, Paulson is almost unrecognizable in the new American Horror Story season 10 trailer and set pictures. But the sentiment is totally relatable in this meme. A lot of people know what it's like to use a flattering Snapchat filter and felt like they're really working it, but the second they tilt their head a little too much to the side or move a little too quickly, reality the digital airbrush is ripped away, leaving only cold, unforgiving reality in its place.
Thanks, I Hate It
There was always that one friend's house that never had any good snacks. Whether the pantry is only stocked with raisins and granola bars, or dinner is green bean casserole and a salad with no dressing, being a good guest meant forcing it down and saying thank you.
The same idea holds true in adulthood. No one with any tact wants to hurt their best friend's feelings if they tried their hand at cooking but missed the mark. Saying "This is good" with tears running down one's face sums it up pretty well.
Role-ception
Sarah Paulson has been on American Horror Story since season 1, and over the course of that time, she's played numerous characters on the anthology-style horror series. As the seasons started to overlap later in the show, previous characters that Paulson had played started to interact with each other in the storylines, making for some very intriguing (and sometimes confusing) scenes. Keeping her head straight as she switched between several different roles must have been really difficult for the actress, and she deserves major acting props for pulling it off.
Mom???
Moms always know where everything is, and kids tend to call on them for everything. Then, there's that terrible moment when "Mom!" is called out into the hallway or down the stairs, but no one answers. Nothing ever gets done around the house if Mom isn't helping. Kids have a tendency to take their poor, hardworking moms for granted, thinking of them as "housekeepers" instead of members of the household. This classic moment of Sarah Paulson on AHS illustrates an entitled child's attitude perfectly..
Hungry or Bored?
This meme should be relatable to anyone who's ever eaten out of boredom, Paulson completely says what's on the mind of anyone at the mercy of the voice in their head commanding them to snack. They can't ignore the voice that commands them walk aimlessly around the kitchen and arrive at the fridge to stare at the Tupperware or produce like a zombie, or at the pantry to dig around for chips or pretzels.
Indeed, they say a lot of snacking is driven by boredom instead of actual hunger, and like Paulson says in this meme, sometimes it feels as if the voice intoning that gluttony is like a separate entity within, one without the best intentions.
Silent Screams
One of the first meme-worthy moments of Sarah Paulson's career was when audiences realized how iconic of a scream she has. Since then, her open-mouthed cry has become a part of her brand and been featured in almost all of her seasons on American Horror Story. Fans can recognize the sound from an image even without being able to hear it. Whether it's out of fear, anguish, or anger, Paulson channels the real horror that American Horror Story is based on by furrowing her eyebrows and settling into the scream that audiences know and love.
Give Her The Emmy
American Horror Story audiences are sending healing energy to Paulson's lungs as she smokes her way through amazing performance after amazing performance. A dramatic drag or well-timed puff of smoke may add incredible gravitas to dramatic scenes, but some fans worry she's acting her way right into a potential health problem. An entire collage can be made of her various nicotine-addicted roles. Fans are hoping she'll finally get the award recognition she deserves so she can give her lungs a break.