Paul Ryan Is Probably Not The Papa Roach Fan Twitter Wants Him To Be

If Papa Roach ever wanted to plan a major comeback, now is probably the time. The hard rock band, whose hit singles "Last Resort" and "Between Angels and Insects" brought them success in the early 2000s, was thrown back into the national spotlight over the weekend thanks to the magic of Photoshop and curiously enough, House Speaker Paul Ryan. However, before you come to the mistaken (but totally hilarious) conclusion that Speaker Ryan drowns his sorrows in Papa Roach's angsty lyrics, may I remind you not to believe everything you read on the internet.

So how did Ryan go from being the man behind House Republicans' failed attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare with their own health care plan to an alleged Papa Roach fan? Like a lot of internet hoaxes, the fantasy of Ryan rocking out to Papa Roach began with a tongue-in-cheek tweet that quickly went viral.

As news of senior House Republicans' decision to withdraw the American Health Care Act from consideration broke on March 25, Twitter user Justin Halpern, of "Sh*t My Dad Says" fame, tweeted a screenshot of a New York Times article, which he'd Photoshopped to replace the article's original kicker with one a tad more imaginative.

The original kicker reportedly read as:

Ryan said the bill included "huge conservative wins." But those provisions were ultimately not enough.

While Halpern's doctored kicker read:

It was a stunning failure for Paul Ryan. He exited the White House in defeat and took no questions as he stepped into his black SUV. Within moments, the muffled sound of Papa Roach's "Last Resort" were heard blaring from inside the car as it drove away.

Halpern's joke quickly went viral. However, way too many people failed to realize it was, in fact, a joke. As his tweet began to be retweeted by more and more people seemingly oblivious to its editing, Halpern felt compelled to point out it was a doctored screenshot. "I honestly thought my Paul Ryan/ Papa Roach photoshop joke was obvious, but, I was wrong," he tweeted. "He is SUCH a tool it was believable."

But the fantasy of Ryan blasting away the pain of seeing the American Health Care Act withdrawn from consideration in the House with the sounds of Papa Roach didn't exactly end there. Hearing of the joke, Papa Roach took to Twitter to comment with what may be the ultimate punchline. "When we feel defeated we listen to Paul Ryan," the band tweeted.

While there's no concrete evidence Ryan is actually a Papa Roach fan (sorry, Twitter), there is evidence he may have been a fan of the rock band Rage Against the Machine at one point in time. He later clarified he liked the band's sound but that the idea Rage Against the Machine was his favorite band was an "urban legend."