Inde Navarrette knows she will forever be “Nikki no no no,” and she is fine with that.
The breakout star of this year’s Obsession was asked at a Focus Features Q&A at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills on Wednesday where her viral “no no no” meme has reached her in a way that has felt strange, since few actors ever get a meme that sticks the way hers has.
“I wear that as a badge of honor,” Navarrette said.
The actress, who comes from a big family, said it is kind of fun when the meme reaches her siblings. Then she told a story she admitted her brother might not love hearing retold.
“My brother’s going to kill me for telling this story,” she said, telling the crowd to get their phones out. “He’s in a very high part of his company and when people tell him no, they just send him that meme.”
“I think that’s fun,” she added. “I don’t know what that means to mass audiences, I don’t think it’s for me to understand, but I think it’s pretty sick when you get to tease your older brother about it.”
The line comes from Obsession, Curry Barker’s supernatural horror film released May 15. In the scene, Navarrette’s Nikki unravels during a dinner date: “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Don’t do that. I thought we were having a nice date!” Universal posted the official clip to TikTok on May 21, where it drew more than 26 million views in about two weeks and kicked off a dance trend built on the audio. The meme is documented on Know Your Meme.
Obsession has become one of the biggest box office stories of the year. Made for a reported $750,000, the film has earned more than $512 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing release in Focus Features history and one of the highest-grossing horror films ever made.
Nikki’s reach extends beyond the screen, too. The character is appearing as a roaming scare actor at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights this year, a late addition announced by creative director John Murdy at the Midsummer Scream convention in August. Rather than confining her to a haunted house, Universal has her stalking the park’s streets in her end-of-film look, bloody and wearing her friend’s dress with tattoos drawn across her body, as reported by Inverse. Fans have been filming their encounters all over TikTok, including popular clips from @monikaagisselaa, @tisstaal, and @hardness16 showing her stalking the park and interacting with guests.
Navarrette previously played Sarah Cortez on all four seasons of The CW’s Superman & Lois. She won the IMDb Breakout STARmeter Award at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month and has been cast as Rogue in Marvel’s X-Men reboot, due in May 2028. She will also host Saturday Night Live’s Halloween episode on October 31, with Gracie Abrams as musical guest.