MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Not over the Cinnamon Toast Crunch guy? A look at old viral pranks like Milkshake Duck and Zoom Cat Lawyer

Comedian Jensen Karp tweeted at Cinnamon Toast Crunch, made by General Mills, saying, 'Ummmm @CTCSquares- why are there shrimp tails in my cereal? (This is not a bit)'

Internet is a wild place and its users often upload several things in the hope to make their post go viral. Now, the hottest topic trending on Twitter is a comedian's post of what was reportedly a cinnamon toast crunch with shrimp tails. The post has made many wonder if could follow the same trail as the 'Milkshake Duck' and 'Zoom Cat Lawyer' incidents. Here's looking back at all the sensational trends.

On Monday, comedian Jensen Karp tweeted to Cinnamon Toast Crunch — made by General Mills — saying: "Ummmm @CTCSquares- why are there shrimp tails in my cereal? (This is not a bit)" He further tweeted: "Ok, we’ll after further investigation with my eyes, these are cinnamon coated SHRIMP TAILS, you weirdos. I wasn’t all that mad until you now tried to gaslight me?"

RELATED ARTICLES

Who is Jensen Karp? How Hot Karl got embroiled in the Cinnamon Toast Crunch controversy over 'shrimp tails'

Texas lawyer unable to remove kitten filter on Zoom asks judge if he may proceed: ‘I'm here live, I'm not a cat’

The company replied to him, saying: "After further investigation with our team that closely examined the image, it appears to be an accumulation of the cinnamon sugar that sometimes can occur when ingredients aren't thoroughly blended. We assure you that there's no possibility of cross-contamination with shrimp."

"Just fyi, the shrimp tails guy is both a marketing professional and someone who's lied to my face without flinching," tweeted artist Brandon Bird. "All I'm insinuating is that you do not need to give him your time or brain space. If he told me he found cereal in his cereal box, I wouldn't take his word," he added in follow-up tweets.

Karp's toxicity in his personal life was highlighted with multiple ex-girlfriends who took his sudden viral moment an opportunity to come forward with a litany of allegations of manipulative, abusive, deceitful behavior. In a thread, Melissa Stetten wrote, "What you may not know about the man behind the viral posts” what like he’s a manipulative gaslighting narcissistic ex-boyfriend who once told me he was surprised I hadn’t killed myself because my life was so worthless?" and "Getting lots of texts from girls still in therapy over his terror. At least we have this fun little club!" She further added: "Look, I’m no sweetheart, I’ve done/said some dumb things dated problematic men, but to have so many women reach out with the SAME EXACT story confirms that what I dealt with wasn’t because of me. It’s a disturbing tactic he used to control and demean women."

According to Popdust, his other ex-girlfriend, who plays amateur basketball with Aubrey Plaza, on a team called the Pistol Shrimps, claimed that Karp once expressed surprise that she hadn't killed herself  because "her life was so worthless." 

He might already have been severely criticized for his personal life, but now many are suspicious if he lied about Cinnamon Toast Crunch too.

An article by Lifehacker went on to claim: "This is probably a bit of tomfoolery. What are the actual chances that two pieces of errant shrimp would end up in a bag of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, bought by a man with a knack for writing jokes and a sizable platform to brandish them?" This can also be yet another case where the he tried to fool others.

Let's discuss some similar cases that have happened in the past.

Milkshake Duck meme

Ben Ward, an Australian cartoonist who often tweets absurdist gags from the handle @pixelatedboat, tweeted a "duck" joke on June 12, 2016. Ward then tweeted: "The whole internet loves Milkshake Duck, a lovely duck that drinks milkshakes! *5 seconds later* We regret to inform you the duck is racist."

The Milkshake Duck meme went super-viral for a while. In fact, people even posted tweets on the trend's first anniversary.

Explaining what really happened, an article by Vox said: "The Milkshake Duck is more about instant virality in the age of social media, as well as the growing polarization of publicly professed ideologies. The viral component means anyone can become a public figure overnight — but it also means an increased likelihood of discovering that a new favorite has a checkered past. The phrase implies a sort of grim recognition: Everyone’s said and done stupid shit on the internet, and thus anyone could become a Milkshake Duck at any moment. was born."

Many users started using the 'milkshake duck' meme in a lot of posts:

Zoom Cat Lawyer

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a series of video-call stumbles and mishaps. The phenomenon seemingly reached its zenith last month when a Texas lawyer appeared before a judge as a cat after being unable to change a video filter.

“I’m not a cat,” Rod Ponton was forced to clarify during a hearing in Presidio county, south-west Texas, as he and his assistant tried to remove the filter. The kitten filter, which was there instead of Ponton’s face, was able to capture his horror and confusion, its eyes flitting across the screen as Ponton scrambled to remove it.

On noticing the "kitten" face, Judge Roy Ferguson of Texas’s 394th judicial district told Ponton: “I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings. You might want to …” The Ponton/kitten entity then interrupted Ferguson in a panicked drawl: “Can you hear me, judge?”

Ferguson responded: “I can hear you. I think it’s a filter …” “It is,” the cat-faced Ponton said. “And I don’t know how to remove it. I’ve got my assistant here, she’s trying to, but I’m prepared to go forward with it … I’m here live. I’m not a cat.”

At the time when the incident happened, Ponton was representing the state of Texas in a hearing, which allegedly centered on a person who had attempted to leave the US with contraband and illegally-obtained cash. The entire video was also posted on Twitter.

This video call mishap soon became viral as people started using the mortified cat's picture in several tweets as memes.