Social:Zoom Cat Lawyer
Zoom Cat Lawyer, also known as I'm Not a Cat, is an Internet meme that refers to a viral video taken from a live stream of a civil forfeiture hearing, and being held on the video conferencing application Zoom in Texas ' 394th Judicial District Court. The video features an attorney named Rod Ponton, who is struggling to disable a cat filter that shows a white kitten mask over his face, making it appear as though a cat is speaking.
History
On February 9, 2021, the YouTube account for the 394th District Court of Texas live-streamed and published a clip entitled "Kitten Zoom Filter Mishap." The video features an attorney, Rod Ponton, who accidentally signed in with a white kitten face filter and is attempting to remove it from his Zoom application.[1] In the video, the kitten's eyes appear to dart back and forth when Ponton says, "I don't know how to remove it. I've got my assistant here and she's trying to." Ponton then attempts to move forward, saying, "I'm prepared to go forward with it." Finally, he says, "I'm here live. I'm not a cat."[2] The post later received 3.6 million views on YouTube and over 26.9 million views on Twitter.[3] Ponton told CNN and the Associated Press that he was using his assistant's 10-year-old desktop computer when he logged on to the civil forfeiture hearing.[4] Ponton claimed his secretary or her daughter had last used the image, but Dell Technologies said that it is more likely that the aging desktop's machine needed a software update.[5]
After the clip was posted, Judge Roy Ferguson later shared the clip on Twitter with a tweet being captioned as "IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off. This kitten just made a formal announcement on a case in the 394th."[6] Reuters reporter Lawrence Hurley later shared the clip on Twitter.[1] Canadian poet Margaret Atwood praised and also shared the tweet with a caption "I on the other hand am a cat. I just can't get this human filter off."[7] After the incident, Ponton said to The New York Times , "If I can make the country chuckle for a moment in these difficult times they're going through, I'm happy to let them do that at my expense."[2] He said to Vice, "Oh, that was just a mistake by my secretary. I was using her computer and for some reason, she had that filter on. I took it off and replaced it with my face. It was a case involving a man trying to exit the United States with contraband and contraband cash. All it was was a mistake. It was taken off and we had the hearing as normal."[8]
Reception
After the clip grew in popularity, several notable media outlets covered the video, including The New York Times ,[2] NBC News,[9] The Wall Street Journal ,[10] USA Today,[11] The Guardian ,[12] ABC,[13] The Daily Dot,[14] Vice,[8] CNN,[15] and others.[4][16] Wonderland described it as one of the best memes 2021 produced.[17] Jochan Embley of Evening Standard described it as one of the "Most hilarious Zoom fails in the year".[18] Natasha Hinde of HuffPost listed it among the "most hilarious Zoom moments of all time",[19] while WPBN-TV reported that the meme would be made into a bobblehead by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.[20]
The meme also inspired a prank involving Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA.[21] In a clip in which Minnesota representative Tom Emmer appears upside-down in a virtual US Congress Committee Finance meeting, a co-attendee references the meme, stating, "at least he's not a cat".[22]
The clip also appeared in a Mike's Hard Lemonade commercial.[23]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kornfield, Meryl; Bellware, Kim; Knowles, Hannah (February 9, 2021). "At first, cat lawyer was embarrassed. Then he realized we all could use a laugh." (in en-US). Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/09/cat-lawyer-zoom-filter/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Victor, Daniel (February 9, 2021). "'I'm Not a Cat,' Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/style/cat-lawyer-zoom.html.
- ↑ Binion, Billy (February 10, 2021). "The Zoom Cat Lawyer Used Federal Agents To Torment a Former Lover With Drug Raids and Bogus Charges". Reason. https://reason.com/2021/02/10/zoom-cat-lawyer-rod-ponton-used-federal-agents-to-torment-former-lover-drug-raids-bogus-charges/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Attorney-at-paw? Filter makes lawyer look like cat in court". Associated Press. February 10, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/video-zoom-cat-filter-texas-lawyer-9213ff8d16da48d0b71ff55cd29beff6.
- ↑ Zdanowicz, Christina (February 9, 2021). "Lawyer tells judge 'I'm not a cat' after a Zoom filter mishap in virtual court hearing". https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/09/us/cat-filter-lawyer-zoom-court-trnd/index.html.
- ↑ Statt, Nick (February 9, 2021). "Zoom filter traps this lawyer as a cute cat during live court hearing". https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/2/9/22274865/zoom-hearing-cat-filter-lawyer-texas-live-court-hearing.
- ↑ Harrison, Ellie (February 10, 2021). "Margaret Atwood has brilliant response to cat lawyer video" (in en). https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/margaret-atwood-cat-lawyer-video-b1800283.html.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gault, Matthew; Koebler, Jason (February 9, 2021). "'I Am Not a Cat,' Lawyer Using Zoom Cat Filter Tells Judge". https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjpmgp/i-am-not-a-cat-lawyer-using-zoom-cat-filter-tells-judge.
- ↑ Li, David K. (February 9, 2021). "'I'm not a cat': Video shows lawyer can't turn off kitten filter during Zoom court appearance". NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/i-m-not-cat-video-shows-lawyer-can-t-turn-n1257168.
- ↑ Gay, Jason (February 12, 2021). "Cat Lawyers and Salad Bowl Drummers: the Enduring Case for Internet Joy". https://www.wsj.com/articles/cat-lawyers-and-salad-bowl-drummers-the-enduring-case-for-internet-joy-11613141562.
- ↑ Molina, Brett (February 10, 2021). "Want your own cat filters for your next Zoom meeting? Here's how to use them". https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/02/10/zoom-cat-filters-how-to-add-to-next-meeting/4466701001/.
- ↑ Gabbatt, Adam (February 10, 2021). "Texas lawyer, trapped by cat filter on Zoom call, informs judge he is not a cat". https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/09/texas-lawyer-zoom-cat-filter-kitten.
- ↑ "Texas attorney accidentally leaves cat filter on during Zoom call: 'I'm here live, I'm not a cat!'". February 9, 2021. https://abc13.com/zoom-cat-filter-judge-attorney-in-texas-live-stream-rod-ponton/10324229/.
- ↑ Thalen, Mikael (February 9, 2021). "'I'm not a cat': Lawyer accidentally activates kitten filter during virtual court hearing". https://www.dailydot.com/debug/lawyer-cat-filter-zoom/.
- ↑ "Texas lawyer accidentally uses cat filter in Zoom call". CNN. February 9, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2021/02/09/cat-filter-texas-lawyer-zoom-call-court-hearing-bu-orig.cnn.
- ↑ Collman, Ashley; Shamsian, Jacob; Fisher, Anthony L. (February 15, 2021). "The lawyer who appeared in a Zoom call as a cat says he wants to start selling merchandise". https://www.insider.com/zoom-cat-lawyer-rod-ponton-wants-to-sell-merchandise-2021-2.
- ↑ "A Year In Lockdown: Most Iconic Memes This Last Year". March 24, 2021. https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2021/03/24/year-in-lockdown-anniversary-most-iconic-memes-2020/.
- ↑ Embley, Jochan (March 23, 2021). "'I'm not a cat': Most hilarious Zoom fails from the last year". https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/best-funny-zoom-fails-covid-pandemic-one-year-b923340.html.
- ↑ Hinde, Natasha (February 12, 2021). "The 8 Most Hilarious Zoom Moments Of All Time". https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/hilarious-zoom-calls_uk_602529a0c5b61e9c458ec8df.
- ↑ Luschek, Mat (February 18, 2021). "'I'm not a cat' Zoom meme to become a bobblehead". https://upnorthlive.com/news/offbeat/im-not-a-cat-zoom-meme-to-become-a-bobblehead.
- ↑ "Of course 'Inside the NBA' had to put a cat head filter on Charles Barkley". USA Today. February 12, 2021. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2021/02/cat-lawyer-charles-barkley-inside-the-nba.
- ↑ "VIDEO: 'At least he's not a cat' - US congressman appears upside down on zoom call". The Irish Times. February 11, 2021. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/at-least-he-s-not-a-cat-us-congressman-appears-upside-down-on-zoom-call-1.4482332.
- ↑ Gianatasio, David (February 17, 2021). "'I'm Not a Cat' Guy Just Did a Mike's Hard Lemonade Ad". https://musebycl.io/advertising/im-not-cat-guy-just-did-mikes-hard-lemondade-ad.
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