The man arrested for ‘eating a succulent Chinese meal’ has died and I’ll never be ok again

If you’ve been anywhere on the internet in the last 24 hours, or 15 years, I’m sure you’ll have seen the iconic meme of Mr. Democracy Manifest who told a swarm of police officers to “get your hands off my penis” whilst being arrested for “eating a succulent Chinese meal”. Unfortunately for everyone who loved and celebrated this meme worthy moment in history, Jack Karlson passed away yesterday at the age of 82.

The Guardian reported this morning that Jack died surrounded by family at 6:31pm on Wednesday evening, following a battle with prostate cancer.

Jack went viral for the first time back in 2009 when a decades old clip of his arrest in Brisbane back was uploaded to the internet.

It is also unknown whether Jack Karlson is actually the real name of this Australian icon – it is believed that he was a small time crook who operated under multiple aliases. He had been mistakenly identified as one of Australia’s most-wanted criminals, which led to him being wrongly arrested for alleged credit card fraud by Queensland Police Station.

In the video from 1991, Jack is famously led out of a restaurant by police and responds to officers who notify him he is under arrest by saying: “I’m under what? Gentleman, this is democracy manifest.”

As police tussle to get him into cuffs, he breaks the fourth wall, looking down the barrel of a camera filming him and says: “Have a look at the headlock here. See that chap over there, he – get your hand off my penis! This is the bloke who got me on the penis people.”

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Then in famous words we can probably all recite from memory, Jack adds: “Why did you do this for me? For what reason? What is the charge? Eating a meal? Eating a succulent Chinese meal?”.

It seems that being falsely arrested didn’t affect his humour, as Jack jibes at officers who attempted to fold his large frame into the police car saying: “Ah yes, I see that you know your judo well.”

Denying that the incident was a case of mistaken identity, Jack said after the arrest: “They thought I was some international gangster.

“Typical police grabbing you – if they can put something on you, they’ll do it”.

But don’t worry, this is not the end of Jack’s legacy. A documentary on his life and legend, titled The Man Who Ate A Succulent Chinese Meal, is set to release in March 2o25. Be warned, I will be fighting each and every one of you for front row seats to watch Jack revisit the restaurant he was so famously arrested at.

Tributes to Jack have rolled in across social media, while his family spoke of the joy he brought to their lives, saying: “He walked a full and colourful path and despite the troubles thrown at him, he lived by his motto – to keep on laughing.”

One of the most fitting tributes released so far was by one of the arresting police officers, Stoll Watt, who told ABC News: “It’s a sad day for Australia. We’ve lost a true colourful character”.

If there has ever been an excuse to enable a Chinese takeaway, tonight is absolutely the day to do it in Jack’s honour.

Rest in peace, Jack Karlson – thank you for providing myself and the world with hours of entertainment while growing up from your incredible and unforgettable outburst.

For more like this look back at Jack Karlson, the succulent Chinese meal man and all the latest news, drops, quizzes and memes, like The Tab on Facebook. 

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