John Pork Is Calling
/jon pork iz KAW-ling/noun · phrase
A meme showing the uncanny virtual character John Pork as an incoming phone call.
- #internet slang
- #meme format
- #John Pork
- #incoming call
- #virtual influencer
Meaning
John Pork Is Calling refers to an image, edit, or short video that presents the pig-headed virtual character John Pork as an incoming phone call. The joke treats a surreal fictional character as though he is genuinely trying to reach you, inviting a caption or story about answering, ignoring, or wondering what happens next. The expression is playful by default, although some adaptations turn the setup into horror, creepypasta, or a death-hoax story.[1][2]
- 1. The standard meme format: John Pork appears beneath or beside an incoming-call interface, often with a ringtone or call sound, as if the viewer’s phone is ringing.
- 2. A broader call premise in which someone jokes about answering or missing John Pork’s call. Related edits may use other anthropomorphic characters or add an eerie storyline, but those are adaptations of the format rather than a separate meaning of John Pork itself.
Examples
“John Pork Is Calling again; I’m letting it go to voicemail.”
“Why is John Pork Is Calling at midnight?”
“I made a John Pork Is Calling edit where answering leads to a bizarre voicemail.”
“The caption says John Pork Is Calling, so the whole chat is pretending the phone is haunted.”
Origin and spread
John Pork predates the calling meme. Virtual Humans describes him as an original 3D digital character developed by Francesco Di Luisi and Sofia Oliveira and first introduced in 2018. Know Your Meme documents John Pork posts on Instagram from 2018 and earlier meme activity based on his uncanny appearance. The calling format is a later combination of the character’s name, an ordinary notification-style phrase, and the visual and audio cues of an incoming phone call. Know Your Meme dates the documented viral edit to March 21, 2023, when TikToker @rover.joe used a John Pork selfie with a CapCut incoming-call graphic and sound effect. The Daily Dot likewise reports that the edit went viral and inspired calls from other anthropomorphic characters, copypasta versions, and horror-style branches. The official John Pork site says the imagery was handcrafted with traditional 3D and VFX; that is a retrospective account from the character’s own promotional source, while Virtual Humans independently describes the character as 3D digital. The exact first use of the phrase or format remains unresolved.[1][2][3][4]
How to use it
Use it for the recognizable incoming-call setup, not for every John Pork image or older joke about his appearance. The phrase can be light and absurd, while captions about unanswered calls may deliberately push it toward suspense, horror, or a death hoax. It is not inherently sexual, insulting, or evidence that the poster literally received a call.
The horror version is an offshoot
Some later posts turned the unanswered-call premise into a death hoax or horror story. The Daily Dot reports that creators framed John Pork as having died because nobody answered, while also noting that the original accounts remained active until November 2023. That storyline is a branch of the meme, not the baseline meaning of every incoming-call edit.[2]
Not every John Pork meme is a call meme
John Pork had earlier image memes, including jokes about his uncanny appearance and comparisons with Technoblade’s pig avatar. “John Pork Is Calling” is narrower: it points to the incoming-call graphic, sound, and answer-or-ignore premise.[1][2]
Questions people ask
Does John Pork Is Calling mean that John Pork is literally real?
No. It is a fictional-character meme that uses phone-notification cues to act as though John Pork is contacting the viewer. Virtual Humans describes him as an original 3D digital character; the calling format is the joke’s presentation, not a claim about a real caller.[4][2]
Why do some versions feel like horror memes?
The call setup naturally leaves an unanswered question: what happens if you pick up? Reported fan-made versions used that uncertainty for mysterious outcomes, creepypasta framing, and a death-hoax storyline. Those eerie uses are adaptations of the playful call format.[1][2]
Sources
- 1. Know Your Meme — John Pork / John Pork Is CallingSupports: meaning, origin.
- 2. The Daily Dot — Who Is John Pork And Why Is He Calling?Supports: meaning, origin.
- 3. John Pork — AboutSupports: origin.
- 4. Virtual Humans — Who is John Pork? @john.pork, explainedSupports: origin.
