Lettuce vs. Liz

The Prime Minister of the UK was outlasted by lettuce

Liz Truss was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from Sept. 6 to Oct. 25 after being Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for a year, according to gov.uk. However, Truss is not fully known for her prior political place nor for being Prime Minister for such a short amount of time; she is known for being outlasted by a piece of lettuce.

This meme started when a Daily Star Deputy editor, Dennis Mann, read an article that was published in The Economist, comparing Truss’ incumbency to the lifespan of a head of lettuce. Mann informed his fellow Deputy editor, Jon Livesey and the two became inspired to create a live video battle between Truss and lettuce. On Oct. 14, the two launched the battle on a live stream, according to theguardian.com.

“Every single conversation, we were trying to think about how to have fun with it,” Livesey said to The Guardian. “That’s our place; that’s how we see our job.”

Following the initial live video announcing the running between the lettuce and Truss, the internet blew up.

“I remember seeing that on TikTok one morning,” sophomore Audrey Wagner said. “It’s been all over my [For You] page, so I researched it a little bit, and it was honestly so amusing.”

The live stream started on Friday, Oct. 14, and ended the following Thursday, when rumors of Truss’ resignation spread. Every day, The Daily Star would have lettuce updates and even went as far as joking around with objects Truss has criticized in the past, according to variety.com.

“It had also been positioned next to a block of cheddar,” Scott Bryan from Variety said. “A memorable reference to a 2014 speech where Truss said it was a ‘disgrace’ that Britain imports two-thirds of our cheese.”

Thousands of viewers tuned in every day for an update on the lettuce. When Thursday came, and the news was spread of Truss’ resignation, strobe lights and music started to play around the lettuce, and a photo of Truss was put face down, according to npr.org.