Apple CEO Tim Cook’s chipper “good morning!” from many, many events got the quasi-royal treatment Monday in a video he shared on X.com filled with celebrities saying the phrase just hours before WWDC26 kicks off.
For Cook, who remains CEO until John Ternus takes over September 1, today’s keynote might be the last opportunity to say it on such a big stage.
And it begs the question: What will be Ternus use as a catchphrase, anyway?
Celebrities have fun with Tim Cook’s ‘good morning’ in video
With September 1 fast approaching, WWDC26 is likely Tim Cook‘s last major Apple event. He’ll almost certainly say “good morning” in that way of his later today (the keynote starts at 10 a.m. Pacific). But after that, he may only get to say it in closed-door board meetings, as executive chairman, or in minor public appearances. So ahead of the big software show, a stable of celebrities goofed around saying the phrase in various ways in a minute-long video.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 8, 2026
Stars showing up in the video include Brett Goldstein, who plays Roy Kent in hit Apple TV comedy Ted Lasso — with a nice fat F-bomb in between “good” and “morning” — late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg, country singer Lainey Wilson, DJ and producer Zedd and actor Rhea Seehorn from Pluribus, plus a few others.
Cook pops up here and there in between celebs with a laugh or another reaction, like shaking his head in response to Goldstein’s F-bombs.
“Thanks for the ideas,” Cook says at the end of the video. “I think I’ll say it the way I always say it. Good morning!”
When it comes to Ternus and whatever he might say, it could just be another version of “good morning.” After all, late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs uttered the phrase to kick off events, too. But Cook managed to make it a meme that will be his forever. Gotta wonder if Ternus is losing sleep over his choice of phrases, or possibly consulting with marketing experts.
- See also: How to watch Apple’s WWDC26 keynote
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
