Wax museum Madame Tussauds has hastily reorganised its line-up.
People magazine is rushing to print next week's issue. And old clips from Friends are being dredged up on the Internet.
The end of the relationship between Hollywood actors Angelina Jolie, 41, and Brad Pitt, 52, who have weathered 12 years and six children together, has clearly struck a chord with the public.
Here's a look at some tongue-in-cheek reactions.
1. #TeamJen responds on Twitter
Pitt and Jolie allegedly became a couple while the former was still married to Jennifer Aniston, 47, best known for her role as Rachel on the television series Friends.
Some of Aniston's aggrieved fans saw the divorce as vindication for their idol. They took to Twitter to post clips from Friends that showed Aniston's character Rachel celebrating, as well as a scene where Rachel declares into a phone: "And that, my friend, is what they call closure."
But others cautioned against implicating Aniston, who ended her marriage with Pitt a decade ago and is now married to actor Justin Theroux, 45.
"Why is Jennifer Aniston trending over #Brangelina's divorce?" US writer Raquel Willis wrote on Twitter. "Why do women have to be defined by relationships that ended a decade ago?"
2. Taylor Swift's dirty laundry is raked up
Country singer Taylor Swift, 26, is once more bearing the brunt of the public's ridicule for her supposed penchant for quick flings that become fodder for her songs.
Fresh out of her three-month relationship with British actor Tom Hiddleston, Swift seems an easy target, with online memes that suggest Pitt is square in her sights.
3. Madame Tussauds breaks up wax couple
Brangelina were a celebrated couple when they were an item, and wax museum Madame Tussauds in 2013 launched waxwork statues of the two together.
With news of their separation, the museum was quick to place the figures "at a respectful distance from each other", initially sticking a wax Robert Pattinson between the two.
Jolie's wax counterpart is now stationed with that of Nicole Kidman, a woman who would know something about divorcing in the media spotlight after her high-profile split from actor Tom Cruise in 2001.
4. Entertainment magazines count their change
Marketing analysts think that the Brangelina break-up might give a boost to weekly print magazines in an industry struggling with a drop in circulation and revenue.
Jolie is supposedly a canny public relations strategist, and observers have noted that her divorce announcement on Tuesday morning caught publishers flat-footed, leaving her to control media coverage on her own terms.
But the industry will be searching for ways to translate the media storm into increased sales and perhaps sustain a short-term recovery.
5. Savvy retailers jump on bandwagon
The Singapore arm of Swedish furniture giant Ikea published a tongue-in-cheek ad on Wednesday (Sept 21) evening captioned "Breakups happen" and touting a two-seater modular sofa that can be converted into separate chairs. The sofa offers "a personalised seating solution", Ikea wrote, "perfect for any celebrity relationship".
