Happy St. Patrick's Day to Ayo Edebiri! On March 17, "The Bear" star posted a picture with
Irish Actor Paul Mescal, who has said he wants to star in a rom-com with Edebiri , to celebrate the day. Her post represents the latest inside joke in a long-running gag connecting the actor to
Ireland and turning her into the internet's de facto Irish icon. "Happy St Paddy's," she wrote over the pic of her and Mescal laughing while sitting on a staircase, adding a shamrock emoji for good measure. But Edebiri isn't Irish... right? The "Bottoms" and "The Bear" star started blowing up online after her back-to-back-to-back
Golden Globes, Critics Choice,
Emmys and Screen Actors Guild award wins in 2024. The joke that has blown out of proportion is confusing fans, new and old alike. Edebiri is from Boston, but then why is everybody claiming she's Irish? Edebiri herself first started the joke in March 2023. While slipping in-and-out of a believable Irish accent, she opened up to Letterboxd at South By Southwest about her fake role as Jenny the donkey in the hit movie "The Banshees of Inisherin," which takes place in Ireland. "I lived in Ireland for about four months and I got really in character and I was on all fours for four months and it was really painful, but beautiful as well, and it was probably the most beautiful part of my career," Edebiri joked. "I'm happy for everybody going to the
Oscars, even though I deserved the nomination more than anybody else because I was, obviously, a donkey for four months," she added. Since then, fans have been jokingly associating her with Ireland and calling her an Irish icon and princess. With Edebiri's big wins at three major award shows in January, she has quickly exploded in popularity — and so has her connection with Ireland. Talking with "Entertainment Tonight" at the Emmys, Edebiri gave a shout out to Ireland and some of the cities she may have visited while in her role as Jenny the donkey. "Shout out to my people," Edebiri said. "Shout out to Derry, shout out to Cork, shout out to Killarney, shout out to
Dublin." She also said she no longer has an account on X, but is aware of her connection to Ireland. Some Irish X accounts have made the joke more convincing, including the account @filmindublin's post congratulating "Ireland's own Ayo Edebiri for her nomination for the 2024 BAFTA Rising Star Award." And, of course, the joke couldn't end there. During her Critics Choice acceptance speech, Edebiri gave another shoutout to the places she's deeply connected to — including Ireland. "To everybody in Boston, Barbados, Nigeria, Ireland in many ways, thank you so much I love you," she said. Edebiri won outstanding supporting
Actress at the Emmys, best supporting actress in a television series musical or
comedy at the Golden Globes, and best actress in a comedy series at the Critics Choice Awards for her performance as
Sydney in "The Bear."