Jensen Huang’s leather jacket once made him an instantly recognizable face of Nvidia. After his resignation on Thursday amid reports of extramarital affairs and a board investigation into possible foreign-intelligence concerns, that image became raw material for a flood of online parodies. Many were made with generative AI—a technology enabled in part by Nvidia’s chips.¹

The jokes recast Huang in familiar scenes, from a Coldplay concert kiss-cam to music videos and The Matrix. Belgian software engineer Peter Dedene, who made a viral kiss-cam parody, said he had once admired Huang. “At the end of the day, the technology he helped create is being used to make fun of him. It’s pretty ironic,” he said.² The video drew nearly seven million views by Thursday, according to the account of its spread.²

The spectacle sits alongside unresolved questions about the allegations. A report described a woman Huang allegedly had an affair with as potentially passing information to Beijing; China has said the spying claims are unsubstantiated. Nvidia faces a more practical test, too: interim CEO Colette Kress must steady the company after a volatile week for its stock, while Huang remains under scrutiny over national-security concerns.³

Not everyone responding to Huang’s departure joined the ridicule. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas thanked him for 33 years of leadership, praising the way he built a startup into a major company and recalling his generosity toward founders.Aravind Srinivas (AravSrinivas)⁴ That tribute offers a counterpoint to the memes: for some in tech, the scandal has not erased a legacy of ambition and mentorship.