The internet's favourite separated-at-birth pair finally shared a red carpet. On Tuesday, 4 August, Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson and Snoop Dogg met face to face at the global premiere of Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie in Los Angeles — and the Backstreet Boys' official social accounts wasted no time marking the moment.

The group posted two photos of the encounter: one of the pair embracing, another of them shaking hands. The caption read, "It finally happened… iykyk" — shorthand for "if you know, you know" (Billboard).

The "iykyk" pointed at a meme that started circulating in 2024, suggesting that Richardson looks like a white Snoop Dogg. The two had never been photographed together before the premiere. Fellow artists piled into the replies: *NSYNC's Lance Bass dropped four clapping emojis on the Backstreet Boys' Instagram post, and singer Muni Long wrote on Threads, "So ya'll was separated at birth or what?" (Billboard).

Both acts have a stake in the film. Snoop Dogg — real name Calvin Broadus — voices a character named Dave in Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, which opens in cinemas on 16 August. The Backstreet Boys recorded the new song "Bottle Up" for the movie's soundtrack. The film is a sequel to 2023's Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (Billboard).

All five Backstreet Boys — Richardson, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, AJ McLean and Brian Littrell — walked the premiere's blue carpet. Richardson and Dorough arrived together, with Snoop Dogg and his wife, Shante Monique Broadus, also in attendance (Reuters Connect). Richardson had travelled straight from Las Vegas, where the Backstreet Boys are in the middle of a residency at the Sphere with dates running through 29 August (Backstreet Boys on Facebook).

Snoop Dogg has his own film on the horizon. A Universal Pictures biopic about his life is set to reach US cinemas on 6 August 2027 (Billboard).

For now, though, the moment belongs to two men and a meme that finally got its punchline.