Chloe says “that’s not my grandpa” with a straight face, but her tears are real. Zoey Zimmer has tapped into the Gen Z ethos: joke about your pain until it becomes art.
If you have scrolled through TikTok, Instagram Reels, or even X (formerly Twitter) in the last 72 hours, you have seen the face. You have heard the line. But unless you are deeply embedded in the lifestyle corner of the internet where irony meets genuine emotional storytelling, you might be asking: What is actually happening?
Let’s break down the three pillars of this bizarre, heartwarming, and utterly addictive new piece of holiday pop culture. The phrase “Not My Grandpa” first appeared as a soundbite on TikTok in late October 2024, lifted from an obscure indie holiday short film titled The Third Stocking . The film, which premiered at a small digital festival in Austin, stars young actress Zoey Zimmer as Chloe , a cynical 22-year-old who discovers that her beloved, recently deceased grandfather was not her biological relative. Not My Grandpa - Zoey Zimmer - Santa Cock Is Cu...
“The line was supposed to be about found family and grief,” Zimmer said, laughing over Zoom from her Brooklyn apartment, which she has decorated with a Franken-tree (half Christmas, half Hanukkah). “But then someone edited my face onto the Grinch, and I thought, Oh, this is the role I was meant for. ”
Then she ended the stream. Is “Not My Grandpa - Zoey Zimmer - Santa Is Cu…” a movie? A meme? A marketing stunt for an unreleased sequel? Honestly, it doesn’t matter. In the world of lifestyle and entertainment, the only thing that counts is cultural resonance. And right now, a fictional girl mourning a fictional not-grandfather while muttering about Santa Claus has captured the collective imagination. Chloe says “that’s not my grandpa” with a
Every holiday season, the entertainment industry tries to predict the next viral moment. Will it be a Mariah Carey resurgence? A heartwarming Hallmark trope? In 2024, however, the universe delivered something far stranger and far more brilliant: a blend of deadpan Gen Z satire, a fictional grandfather named “Not My Grandpa,” actress , and a fragmented meme simply known as “Santa Is Cu…”
As you gather with your actual grandparents this holiday season—or your not-grandparents, or your chosen family—remember Chloe. Remember the cut-off word. And maybe, just maybe, when you see a mall Santa this year, you’ll lean over to a friend and whisper: You have heard the line
In an era of binge-watching and instant answers, a chopped sentence (“Santa Is Cu…”) feels radical. We are obsessed with the missing piece.