‘I will never recover from this’: The internet is spiraling over the Duolingo owl’s untimely death

Duo, the infamous Duolingo owl, is dead.

The language-learning app shared the news in a tongue-in-cheek post yesterday. The cause of death remains under investigation, but Duolingo has its own theory: “Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know?” the company wrote on X. “We’re aware he had many enemies, but we kindly ask you to refrain from sharing why you hate him in the comments.”

an important message from Duolingo pic.twitter.com/jTTT680yVs

The brand didn’t miss an opportunity to plug its premium service either, adding: “If you feel inclined to share, please also share your credit card number so we can automatically sign you up for Duolingo Max in his memory.”

The company also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mention the viral meme that confuses Duo with pop star Dua Lipa: “We appreciate you respecting Dua Lipa’s privacy at this time,” it wrote. (Dua Lipa herself responded to the news mournfully, posting on X: “Til’ death duo part.”)

Duolingo has fully committed to the bit, updating its X profile picture to an image of Duo with cartoonish crosses over his eyes. Meanwhile, over on TikTok, a video shows fellow Duolingo characters Lily and Zari solemnly carrying Duo’s coffin onto the bed of a pickup truck. “Btw im deaf so i hope this is a sad song,” the video’s text overlay reads as the X-rated lyrics of the song ‘Good Lookin’’ by Dixon Dallas play.

Duo’s reputation was always tied to his parent company’s relentless push notifications that guilt-tripped users into keeping up with their daily language practice. “Bro spent his last days begging me to learn French… and I ignored him…,” one X user posted under the announcement. “I will never recover from this.”

Over time, Duo evolved from a simple mascot into an internet-wide meme with his own lore (he once harassed Drake and appeared on Netflix’s Squid Game). While the Duolingo owl received plenty of tongue-in-cheek dislike, few expected the company to actually kill him off. Yet, that’s exactly what they did. Duo now joins the ranks of fallen corporate icons like Twitter’s beloved blue bird (axed in 2023 after Elon Musk rebranded the platform as X) and Mr. Peanut (killed off by Planters in a 2020 Super Bowl commercial).

At the time of writing, there’s been no confirmation on why Duo is no more, and Duolingo did not immediately respond to Fast Company’s request for comment. However, the official X account teased today: “UPDATE: Officials have identified cause of death. More details to follow.”