'Cursed' JD Vance meme becomes unlikely sign of 'resistance' online

A Norwegian tourist has claimed that having the 'bald' JD Vance meme saved on his phone resulted in him being harassed by immigration officers and ultimately refused entry to the US.

However, US Customs and Border Protection have responded, blasting this as "FALSE" and gave another reason for denying him entry into the country.

What are the tourist's claims?

Mads Mikkelsen (not the actor) had landed at New Jersey’s Newark Airport on June 11, excited to meet friends in New York and with plans to travel south to Austin, Texas.

However, the 21-year-old's holiday plans were soon scuppered when he was stopped by immigration officers who he claims questioned him on “terrorism and drugs” and was then thrown in a holding cell in what he described to Norwegian newspaper Nordlysas an "abuse of power and harassment".

"'They asked questions about drug trafficking, terrorist plots and right-wing extremism totally without reason," Mikkelson recalled.

“They took me to a room with several armed guards, where I had to hand over my shoes, mobile phone, and backpack.”

He also claimed he ended up giving guards access to his phone after they threatened him with a $5,000 fine or five years in prison if he declined.

It was then when the officers discovered the bald JD Vance meme, an edited photo of the US vice president with a cartoonishly bald, egg-shaped head.

"The picture had been automatically saved to my camera roll from a chat app, but I really didn’t think that these innocent pictures would put a stop to my entry into the country," Mikkelson added.

Altogether, the Norwegian described feeling like he "was a terrorist suspect" during his purported ordeal.

Mikkelson alleged he was then put on a flight back to Norway that same day.

How has CBP responded?

The US Customs and Border Protection have hit back at Mikkelson's claims, declaring his story as "FALSE".

"Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use," it wrote in an X post with a screenshot of a Daily Mail news article.

Social media reaction

Since Mikkelson has shared his story with the Norwegian publication, people on social media have been sharing their thoughts, as some joked about having to delete the bald JD Vance meme from their phones.

"ICE detained a Norwegian tourist who had a JD Vance meme on their phone. They weren't allowed to enter the country. These are the same people who blame Europe for a lack of free speech," one person wrote.

A second person said, "Bald JD Vance is going in the history books."

"You can’t even meme without being detained," a third person added.

A fourth person commented, "Just imagining visiting America and having ICE trawl through the 154,000 photos and memes in my cloud library before deciding whether to let me in..."

"I have to delete some tweets," the text read on a scene of character Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, a spin on his original line "I have to return some videotapes."

"The sentence was already funny but then I checked the news and the tourist's actual name was 'Mads Mikkelsen'. Currently laughing out loud," another person shared, referring to the actor Mads Mikkelsen.

"Who TF are You to deny Mads Mikkelsen entry?" one X user joked, referring to the actor of the same name as the guy at the centre of this story.

Some have also been sharing memes and jokingly referring to it as a form of 'resistance' online.

Elsewhere, JD Vance ridiculed for 'dumbest' argument about US attacking Iran, and JD Vance's brief Bluesky suspension riles up MAGA.

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