Ryan Gosling finally eats his cereal in tribute to late viral meme creator

Today’s viral headline: Ryan Gosling eats cereal.

While it may not sound like breaking news, the story behind the actor’s snack is actually quite sweet and honourable.

On Sunday, Ryan McHenry died of bone cancer. He was 27.

The Scottish Vine star is best remembered for the “Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal” meme, in which he attempts (unsuccessfully) to spoon-feed Gosling through his TV screen.

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According to The Verge,“McHenry first uploaded a six-second Vine showing Gosling appear to reject an offered spoonful of cereal in early 2013. Six months later, he discovered he was suffering from osteosarcoma — a type of bone cancer — in his leg. The Scottish filmmaker told The Verge that he was able to keep positive for the audience he had built up on Vine and Twitter, posting ‘cancer selfies,’ videos, and other stories from his hospital bed and during treatment.”

Last month, when asked by iTunes Movies to share something his fans don’t know about him, Gosling decided to clarify that, despite what the meme might suggest, he actually enjoys cereal.

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McHenry responded to Gosling’s tweet, asking for forgiveness.

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Upon news of McHenry’s passing, people on Twitter asked Gosling to eat a bowl of cereal in honour of McHenry.

Gosling obliged, joining Vine to do just that. He poured himself a bowl of Corn Flakes, raised his spoon to McHenry, and made McHenry’s dream of having Gosling personally respond to the videos come true.

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