Kamala Harris Laughing Hyena Comparisons

Submission 8,759

Part of a series on Kamala Harris. [View Related Entries]

About

Kamala Harris Laughing Hyena Comparisons refers to memes and posts comparing Kamala Harris's laugh to that of a hyena. The comparisons, which tend to focus on, her facial expressions, the sound of her laugh and the perception that she laughs at unnecessary times, were first made online as early as 2018 and became increasingly popularized in 2024 amid her run for president of the United States in the upcoming election. In late July 2024, Bluesky users began posting furry artwork of Kamala Harris as a hyena as a direct response to the memes comparing her laugh to that of a hyena.

Origin

It is unclear when the first comparison between Kamala Harris' laugh and a hyena's laugh was posted online. The comparisons stem from the perception that Harris laughs at unnecessary times, while also stemming from the sound of her laugh.

Some early examples of the comparison can be found on X. For example, on February 17th, 2019, X^[1] user @gloriarizzo16 posted, "Great name for Kamala 'laughing hyena.'" On February 24th, X^[2] user @mike_datlof posted, "Kamala is a hyena: laughs at everything." Neither of the posts gained notable traction.

Spread

On October 27th, 2020, YouTuber^[3] ThePrint posted a video examining a clip of Donald Trump criticizing Harris for laughing, although he does not make the hyena comparison, garnering over a million views in four years. On March 31st, 2021, YouTuber^[4] Terrence K Williams posted a video reacting to Harris laughing, directly calling her a "laughing hyena" and criticizing her for laughing "all the time," garnering over 50,000 views in three years (shown below).

On June 13th, Geeks and Gamers^[5] forum user Greg0875000 posted a meme using a side-by-side image of Harris and a laughing hyena. On April 1st, 2022, 9GAG^[6] user hellishome619 posted a "They're The Same Picture" meme using the comparison, garnering around 40 upvotes in two years.

On July 22nd, 2024, X^[7] user @PapiTrumpo posted the side-by-side comparison, writing, "WHO DID THIS???😭🤣🤣🤣," garnering over 99,000 likes in two weeks (shown below).

Kamala Harris Hyena Fursona

On July 23rd, 2024, Bluesky^[8] user bixbyte posted the side-by-side meme, writing, "Right-wingers keep using this image as an insult Kamala Harris. They're only inadvertently helping her win the furry votes and potentially designing her fursona," garnering over 700 likes and 100 reposts in two weeks (shown below).

That day, the same Bluesky^[9] user posted a drawing of Harris as a hyena, garnering over 1,600 likes in the same span of time (shown below, left). On July 31st, Bluesky^[10] user spooktoons posted another piece of art depicting Harris as a hyena, garnering over 680 likes in a week (shown below, center). On August 1st, Bluesky^[11] user anhedoniaproject posted art that gained over 400 likes in a week (shown below, right).

Some posters also notably used the hashtag "#YeenQueen" to refer to Harris as a hyena.

Jon Voight Video

On August 6th, 2024, actor Jon Voight posted a video to X^[12] encouraging viewers to vote for Trump, calling Harris a "cackling hyena" in the video, garnering over 40,000 likes in a day (shown below). That day, the Jerusalem Post^[13] reported on the video.