On October 27 , 2008 , at the Macy 's Thanksgiving Day Parade , Astley himself performed a live rickroll . He came out during the singing of `` Best Friends '' by the cast of Foster 's Home for Imaginary Friends and sang `` Never Gonna Give You Up '' . On November 27 , 2008 , Astley participated in a live rickroll during the Macy 's Thanksgiving Day Parade while the Foster 's Home for Imaginary Friends characters were singing `` Best Friend '' , the theme from the 1970s TV series The Courtship of Eddie 's Father .