The Dark History Behind A Few Popular Internet Memes And Phrases - Plus Bonus Bravo Content!
In May of last year I wrote a post here called, “The One With The Big List Of Internet Mom Complaints I Can’t Relate To.” In that post I talked about some of the most popular internet mom complaints that make the rounds that I simply just can’t relate to. For example, soup season. Sorry not sorry, but soup is a year round meal. Also, decorative tea towels. If you give me a Christmas tea towel don’t be surprised when you come over in July and see it out.
In a similar way, there are certain memes that make their way across the internet or phrases in the lexicon that go beyond just not being able to relate for me. In all of the examples I will share the reasoning for not being entertained by them is the same: the true story behind them is dark and not to be celebrated.
First, the famous woman-yelling-at-cat meme. The woman in the picture is Taylor Armstrong who is a cast member on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She is pictured with a hysterical face, pointing across the way, seemingly being held back by another cast member. The image of her is usually paired with an image of a white cat, making a similar screeching face, seated at a table behind a plate of food. People typically use this meme when trying to portray a ridiculous fight. Here’s the problem though: the actual fight that happened when the picture of Taylor was taken was not ridiculous.
The image was taken from Season 2, Episode 14. It had come out in a previous episode that Taylor’s husband hit her. In this episode Taylor is confronting the other cast member who let the information slip on camera. She’s telling her, “you have no idea what you’ve done to me.” What we find out later is that in retaliation for his name being smeared on national television, Taylor’s husband dislocated her jaw. She was trying desperately to get the other castmates to keep their mouths shut so that she didn’t get the brunt of any more anger. She couldn’t come right out and say it for safety reasons, so the hysterics are all totally understandable in my opinion.
Later on in that season, Taylor’s husband commits suicide. Taylor finds him. She is left with a mountain of debt and guilt and a young daughter. The entire story is what one commenter on a recent HBO documentary “Hollywood Demons” called “the darkest timeline in reality TV history.” Taylor has since remarried and even returned to reality TV. She seems happy and for that I am happy. That being said, I wish we would all stop using the meme for fodder.
Next, I absolutely hate the phrase “don’t drink the Kool-Aid.” The phrase is typically used as a warning against blindly following some sort of belief or leader. That is certainly not something we shouldn’t warn our friends about, I just don’t like the sarcastic tone the phrase is typically used in. The phrase is referencing a cult leader named Jim Jones who in November 1978 convinced 900 of his followers to commit mass suicide by drinking cyanide laced Kool-Aid. Some of his followers even knowingly gave this drink mixture to their children. I agree with columnist Meghan Daum who calls the use of this phrase “grotesque, even offensive.”
My last example might be somewhat obscure, but it’s the phrase “a dingo ate my baby.” In case you never watched Steve Irwin, a dingo is a wild Australian wolf. The phrase is usually said in a funny Australian accent and I saw it parodied a lot on TV when I was younger. It’s meant to portray a ridiculous excuse, like “the dog ate my homework.” It’s actually referencing a woman named Lindy Chamberlain whose 9 month old baby girl disappeared on a camping trip in 1980. Absolutely no one believed her story about the dingo and she was convicted of killing her child. Here’s the thing though: years later a massive dingo lair was found in a remote part of the wilderness that contained not only the remains of Lindy’s baby, but a ton of other human remains. Lindy’s conviction was overturned but please, let’s retire this phrase and start believing women the first time.
In addition to Taylor Armstrong, there are a few other reality TV stars that I don’t think got treated fairly during their time on Bravo. I’ve been wanting to write about them ever since the big “reality reckoning” movement a couple years ago but never quite found the right space until today.
Bravo Reality Stars I Feel Sorry For:
Kathryn Dennis (Southern Charm) - I think it’s important to remember that she was only 21 years old during her first season where she was used as some kind of sexual exploit by more than one of the older male cast members. She started dating and had children with a guy on the show who was already in his 50s. For years the show followed their drama but always painted her as someone unstable. As a young single mother she endured more than the other cast mates could ever dream of and she deserved some slack.
Dorit Kemsley (RHOBH) - In Season 12 of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills we watch as Dorit recovers from being robbed in her home. Intruders came in the middle of the night while her husband was out of town, her children were sleeping, and held her at gunpoint while they robbed her. Dorit has never been the same since this experience, as I believe none of us would. I think the way cast members doubted her story and even her own now ex-husband doubted her PTSD is shameful.
Michael Shay (VPR) - In Season 3 of Vanderpump Rules, we see Scheana and “Shay” get married, only to get divorced in Season 5. The reasons Scheana cited were that Mike had a secret drug addiction. At some point she explains that it was to the point where he was draining their bank account and while I fully agree that isn’t cool, there are lessons to be learned here. First, they should have had a pre-nup. Second, you can’t guide someone through addiction when you’re not a professional. You can support them, but you can’t beat the addiction for them. We see Scheana do just about everything wrong when it comes to supporting Shay and her credibility even further shot when she starts dating an ex right after the divorce and says she really loved him the whole time. All this to say, Mike Shay deserved more space to tell his story. It was a missed opportunity by Bravo to help others.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! Next month, I hope to share advice I’ve gleaned from a British Prince and a Princess of Pop - stay tuned!
XO - Olivia
