When I'm Watching X and They Start Being Mean to Y

Submission 2,321

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About

When I'm Watching X and They Start Being Mean to Y, also known as When They're Mean to X on Y, is a phrasal template from the perspective of a TV show fan who gets upset when the characters on the show are mean to a specific character. The phrasal template is also used by movie, video game and anime fans (among other subcultures). The original iteration read, "When they're mean to Butters on South Park," and was posted to Twitter / X in April 2024. Image macros paired with the captions often portrayed an outburst of anger or an attempt to stop the mean characters. Notable image subjects include the Shaq Timeout meme and a photo of rapper Kankan sitting on a kitchen countertop.

Origin

On April 20th, 2024, X^[1] user @drawbrey tweeted, "Me when they’re mean to Butters on South Park," using a video of a TikToker with green hair crying in her car, receiving over 92,000 likes in a month. The video used in the tweet was later disabled by its original uploader. However, a screenshot of the tweet was posted by Instagram^[2] user @a11iens on April 26th (shown below).

Spread

On April 27th, 2024, Instagram^[3] user @senorlennon recaptioned the tweet screenshot, replacing text to reference Beji from Pitch Perfect, gaining over 5,300 likes in a month (shown below).

On May 8th, X^[4] user @yesirski tweeted a photo of rapper Kankan sitting on a kitchen countertop, captioned, "When they’re mean to butters on south park 💔," gaining over 73,000 likes in 20 days (shown below).

Later on May 8th, 2024, TikToker^[5] @ireviewshi posted a slow fade-in meme that showed an Instagram Story screenshot with the same photo of Kankan sitting in the kitchen and text reading the Butters from South Park caption, receiving over 229,600 plays and 48,900 likes in 20 days (since deleted).

On May 25th, X^[6] user @sinclairbian tweeted a recaptioned version of the Kankan template, reading, "when they mean to Mac from Always Sunny," gaining over 11,000 likes in three days (shown below).

Others followed the template, like X^[7] user @nohohankpilled on May 25th, who referenced NoHo Hank from HBO's Barry and earned over 13,000 likes in three days (shown below).

During the same timeframe, the template took other forms, like a tweet shared by X^[8] user @SMlTTENMITTENS on May 20th, 2024, captioning a photo of a broken Steam Deck, reading, "ihate it when the milkshake is mean to the meatball," as in, Master Shake and Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The tweet received over 22,000 likes in eight days (shown below).

Shaq Timeout

In October 2024, the phrasal template received increased usage when the Shaq Timeout meme was used en masse, showing former NBA player Shaquille O'Neal making a "time out" symbol with his hands.

For instance, the first known iteration was shared by X^[9] user @GothamChief on October 13th, joking about the Batman TV show The Penguin, reading, "When I'm watching The Penguin and someone is being mean to Victor," receiving over 18,000 likes in nine days (shown below).

On October 18th, X^[10] user @coffinposting shared an edited version of the Shaq Timeout photo that showed Shaq smiling and seemingly celebrating with both of his fists raised. They captioned the image concerning the Saw film franchise, writing, "when i'm watching a saw movie & they start being mean to hoffman," gaining over 6,300 likes in three days (shown below).