Duolingo announces the death of its beloved owl mascot, Duo
A moment of silence for Duo, the Duolingo owl.
The language-learning app Duolingo announced Tuesday that its iconic, chaotic and unhinged mascot Duo Keyshauna Renee Lingo — more commonly known as Duo the Owl — has died.
“It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Duo, formerly known as The Duolingo Owl, is dead,” a statement on social media read.
According to a post on X, Duo, best known for annoyingly reminding app users to complete their lessons, was born in 1000 BC.
The company said that “authorities” are investigating the green owl’s death.
“Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know,” they quipped. “We’re aware he had many enemies.”
Duolingo asked users to steer clear of “sharing why you hate him” in the comments of the announcement.
They also encouraged fans to share their credit card information “if you feel inclined…so we can automatically sign you up for Duolingo Max in his memory” — though a company spokesperson confirmed to USA Today that this was indeed a joke and said not to disclose their credit card information.
“We appreciate you respecting Dua Lipa’s privacy at this time,” the statement ended, referencing Duo’s idolization and perhaps one-sided friendship with the pop star with a similar name.
In a video posted on TikTok, fellow Duolingo characters Lily and Zari can be seen carrying a coffin with Duo the Owl and putting it into the bed of a pickup truck to be driven away.
Naturally, the internet was frazzled by the green owl’s death, and several brands even weighed in with their condolences.
“But where can we RSVP to the funeral reception,” Squishmallows commented.
“How else am I supposed to talk to my customers,” retail company Fashion Nova wrote.
“Pouring one out for Duo,” said Arizona Iced Tea.
“I think this calls for a day off work,” Nasty Gal said.
But one company in particular went above and beyond to mourn Duo.
Netflix made their own Instagram post about the death of the beloved animated owl, writing, “sending my condolences fr @duolingo.”
The post included a video of Duo the Owl being eliminated from the hit series “Squid Game.”
The post raised eyebrows among fans, with some wondering, “Is this a season 3 leak?”
“WHO KILLED THE OWL,” another cried.
Duo the Owl has become so popular that the bird even made a special appearance at Berlin Fashion Week last month.
The language learning app told CNN that they plan to reveal more about the “shocking (and possibly absurd) truth behind his untimely demise” on social media Wednesday.
About an hour before the announcement of the owl’s death, he was seen in a social media post with the caption, “SAY DRAKE,” leading people to believe that his death has some sort of connection to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance where he sang a diss track about Drake and smiled directly at the camera when Lamar said his name.
The brand has changed its icons on social media to an image of the animated owl with crosses in his eyes to depict him as dead.
Rest in peace, Duo.
