10 Memes That RUINED People's Lives

10 Memes That Ruined People’s Lives

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re examining our picks for the 10 Memes That Ruined People’s Lives.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most notable incidents where a piece of viral content badly affected the life of someone involved.

Have you ever had a meme about yourself online? Let us know in the comments below!

Technoviking

In 2007, a video went viral, depicting a jacked guy who looked like a Viking dancing to techno music. People were captivated, and a little intimidated, by the person nicknamed Technoviking. Originally shot by Matthias Fritsch in 2000 at a Berlin music parade, the clip brought profits for the filmmaker through ad revenue, and later, sales of t-shirts featuring the famous subject. However, a couple of years later, Technoviking’s lawyers asked Fritsch to take down the video citing improper use of his “personality rights.” Failure to comply, and he’d be sued for €250,000. Both parties eventually reached a compromise in court that essentially bankrupted Fritsch. In 2015, Fritsch released a crowdfunded documentary on Technoviking, with changes to the clips, of course.

Scumbag Steve

In 2011, you couldn’t go on social media without seeing the infamous image of Scumbag Steve. The picture, which showed a guy in a backwards cap and fake fur coat, went viral after people started tagging it with mocking captions. But while it was hilarious content for most, this meme soon became a nightmare for the guy in the photo - Blake Boston. Boston was just 16 years old back in 2006 when his mom took the picture for her photography class. Shortly after going viral, Boston and his family were harassed with phone calls all day, with some even wishing bad for his unborn child. Boston later took advantage of his newfound fame, releasing the rap single “Scumbag Steve Overture” in 2012.

Dog Poop Girl

If you’ve witnessed someone not clean up after their dog, you know how infuriating it can be. But that still doesn’t make it okay to harass them. In 2005, an image spread online showing the aftermath of a woman’s pup letting loose on the subway in Seoul, South Korea. While the lady cleaned up her dog, she refused to sort out the grim mess on the floor before getting off at her stop. This meant strangers had to step in and wipe it away. The internet soon discovered her identity, which was creepy enough, but then sent her so much abuse, she reportedly had to quit university. The woman even made a public apology, hoping to reduce the backlash.

Wentworth Miller

Several actors have earned near-universal love for their film and TV performances. Brendan Fraser, Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman… and Wentworth Miller. But in 2016, the “Prison Break” star was maliciously targeted by entertainment website LADbible. The group posted a side-by-side image of Miller at different points in his life that seemed to make a “joke” of his weight gain. Miller responded on social media that the picture was taken back in 2010, when he had taken a break from acting and was struggling with depression. In a rare moment, he had gone for a walk with a friend and was photographed smiling by the press. The next day, LADbible took down the post and issued a public apology to Miller.

Impossible Is Nothing

In 2006, Aleksey Vayner sent a particularly striking video résumé to investment bank UBS. It showed Vayner responding to a question with a long monologue on complex business concepts, all intertwined with clips of him supposedly performing various acts. While it was intended as part of a job application, the video spread like wildfire after someone at UBS forwarded it to other banks. This led to the media examining Vayner’s life and poking holes at some of his past claims. Vayner threatened legal action against UBS and YouTube, but that only seemed to fuel parodies of the video, with actor Michael Cera and “How I Met Your Mother” getting in on the fun. In 2013, Vayner sadly passed away from a heart attack.

Alex From Target

In 2014, then-16-year-old Alex Lee was working the cash register at Target when his life turned upside down. Apparently, someone had taken a photo of him working and uploaded it online. The picture soon got a lot of attention and the resulting hashtag #AlexFromTarget appeared on the trending list. Lee became an overnight internet sensation, racking up millions of followers and even appearing on “Ellen” to discuss his newfound fame. However, the dark side of this popularity soon erupted. Lee and his family had their personal information released online, which opened the door to a flood of threatening messages. Although he capitalized on the fame initially, even once dabbling in a music career, Lee has since disappeared from social media.

Plastic Surgery

Back in 2012, Taiwanese model Heidi Yeh appeared in an advert for a cosmetic clinic. The ad depicted a seemingly attractive couple with three children who look vastly different from them. A sort of tongue-in-cheek joke about plastic surgery. According to her contract, the picture couldn’t be used by another clinic. But the advertising agency did just that and it went viral. This then sparked a fake story that the husband in the picture sued Yeh for lying about her plastic surgery before having children with him. Sadly, many people bought into this tale. Yeh saw job opportunities dry up as companies believed she’d had cosmetic work done. In 2015, she estimated her potential loss at around $123,000 due to this falsehood.

Star Wars Kid

At some point, we’ve all reenacted our favorite film scenes. But not many of us have then been victims of online attacks as a result. In 2002, 15-year-old Canadian Ghyslain Raza recorded himself doing some Darth Maul-esque moves. The following year, the video was released without his permission, and Raza was nicknamed “Star Wars Kid” by blogger Andy Baio. Soon after, Raza received violent, threatening messages from people online, and also had to deal with harassment at school. His parents sued the families of those who released the video for $160,000, but eventually settled out of court. In 2022, Raza appeared in the documentary “Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows,” and received an apology from Baio for his involvement.

Pepe the Frog

This character was first created in 2005 by cartoonist Matt Furie for his comic “Boy’s Club.” Since then, Pepe the Frog has taken the internet by storm, popping up on 4chan and Tumblr with his unique and occasionally “rare” expressions. The green creature became somewhat controversial in 2015 when it was unofficially adopted as a mascot for the alt-right movement. Furie particularly hated this association and even brought lawsuits against extremist organizations that used it. Frustrated with this hateful connotation, Furie discontinued the character in 2017, although he plans to bring it back at some point. His efforts were not in vain though, as he won a $15,000 settlement against Infowars in 2019 for co-opting Pepe in their content.

Harambe

In 2016, the world was shocked by what went down at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. A three-year-old boy had gotten into the gorilla enclosure and was dragged around by one resident, Harambe. Controversially, the western lowland gorilla was gunned down over fears for the kid’s safety. This sparked outrage online. Many, many memes of Harambe flooded the internet as people took the gorilla’s side. However, some went way too far and began harassing those involved. People accused the boy’s mom, Michelle Gregg, of being a bad mother and called for her to lose her job. Some even made petitions to hold her liable for Harambe’s death. Gregg ended up deleting social media in a bid to escape it all.