It was meant to be merely a light-hearted moment amidst Adin Ross‘ crazy celebrity boxing show — but the kiss cam had other ideas. When it panned over rapper Ice Spice and NFL player Sauce Gardner, what the fans saw was not fireworks but a whole lot of nothing. No kiss. No smile. No wave. Two of the biggest superstars of the night sitting there like strangers in a dentist chair.
Inevitably, the internet boomed
The going-viral moment occurred during Adin Ross’ popular fight night, a production that brought influencers, rappers, athletes, and online chaos agents into one streaming spectacle. Ross, himself a figure made popular by mashing up internet culture and celebrity soap opera, has created a new entertainment track where anything — and anybody — seems to be able to go viral in a matter of seconds.
And that’s precisely what occurred when Ice Spice and Sauce Gardner were thrust into the public eye. The two have evaded dating speculations since February of 2025 when they were photographed going shopping together in a New Jersey shopping mall. Since that time, they’ve attended numerous major events, always seeming adorable, always fanning the flames. So when the kiss cam caught up with them sharing a seat next to one another at Ross’ event, everyone anticipated a bit of PDA.
This was followed by an uncomfortable silence between the two that elicited thousands of tweets, memes, and even a jab from UFC President Dana White.
“That’s her boyfriend?” he apparently said in a widely-seen clip. “They’re acting like they don’t even f***in’ know each other.”
The remark went viral on social media — although not one credible source has substantiated it. Nevertheless, in internet-style, the fact that it was not confirmed did not matter. The quote embodied the shared confusion and vicarious embarrassment that many people experienced watching the incident happen.
Of course, White isn’t new to the influencer and streaming environment. Last year alone, he officiated a viral IShowSpeed-Adin Ross wrestling match for Fanatics Fest, and he’s spoken on the record about labeling Ross, Speed, and Kai Cenat “the most influential people on the internet.” So when he throws shade, people listen.
The response online was divided. Some fans complimented Ice Spice and Sauce for resisting the pressure of a kiss they did not want.
“Just because the camera cuts to you doesn’t mean that you owe anyone a show,”
one X user wrote. Others were not so lenient, labeling the encounter
“weirdly distant”
“too cool for human emotion.”
A very popular meme had a photo of the pair on the kiss cam with the title: “Y’all ever act like strangers in public just to avoid drama?”
Another one said,
“They’re giving ‘secret situation-ship energy’ and I am living for it.”
It also prompted more introspective discussion about what we want from celebrity couples. There’s pressure in a society where everything we do is captured, dissected, and meme-ified to perform the most intimate moments. For millennials and Gen Z viewers, the kiss cam isn’t just adorable anymore — it’s a pop culture landmine.
One user noted .
“There’s this strange assumption that if you are a celebrity and dating, there should be public displays of kissing with thousands of fans, or else the relationship isn’t real, Not everyone wants to share that”
