Why people think Ayo Edebiri is from Ireland

Ayo Edebiri isn’t Irish… right?

The “Bottoms” and “The Bear” star is blowing up online after her back-to-back-to-back Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and Emmys wins in January.

But a longtime joke that has blown out of proportion is confusing fans, new and old alike. Ayo Edebiri is from Boston, but then why is everybody claiming she’s Irish?

Turns out, the joke about Edebiri and Ireland is just a nearly year-long bit that has turned into somewhat of a phenomenon.

Where did the joke about Edebiri being Irish come from?

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.

Why is the joke so big now?

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.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com