If you spend any time online — and you’re here reading this article, so you obviously do — then you’re no doubt familiar with the woman vs. cat meme. On one side, you have an angry woman screaming and on the other, a very disgruntled cat who’s having none of it. Incidentally, at least one side of the meme has a pretty dark history.
These photos together is making me lose it pic.twitter.com/kJi9d8MpbG
— chey (@MISSINGEGIRL) May 1, 2019
- The meme peaked in August. Both halves of the image were famous before they were combined into this amazing meme, but putting the two together was the creation of Twitter user @MISSINGEGIRL who just thought it was hilarious to see them side by side. It didn’t take long for it to take off, with Google Trends reporting the woman vs. cat meme reaching its peak starting in August 2019.
- The cat is cool, don’t worry. His name is Smudge, based on a small grey patch of fur on his head that eventually disappeared. His image was first uploaded to Tumblr in June 2018 by deadbefordeath, who captioned it “he no like vegetals.” Because of how immediately popular Smudge got, his owner Miranda even created an Instagram account for him. All the pictures show Smudge with different foods and varying reactions to them. You go, Smudge.
- This is where things get a bit dark. The other image in the meme is none other than The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Taylor Armstrong, and the pic was taken during a heated argument between her and Camille Grammer. Basically, Taylor was pissed off at Camille for gossiping about her personal life and decided to confront her about it, and a massive blowup ensued.
- So what was it about? Taylor had previously disclosed that she’d been abused by her late husband Russell Armstrong, and that’s what Camille was gossiping about. Taylor was afraid that if Russell saw footage of Camille gossiping, that could have serious consequences, so that’s why her reaction was so extreme. Russell committed suicide just a month after Taylor filed for divorce, making the whole thing that much sadder.
- Anything for the memes. While the screencap of Taylor going viral may not seem ideal given the circumstances in which it was taken, Taylor herself isn’t that bothered about it and has been able to find the humor in an otherwise terrible situation. When asked by a fan on Twitter if it upset her to see that image so often, she said “it’s ok to laugh at the images that have been created” because she has “moved on and [is] in a really healthy, happy marriage.” Whew!
- It’s kinda the best meme to happen in a long time, right? The world may be split in a million different pieces on every issue under the sun, but I’m glad we can all agree on something.
Thank you – that is my past and I have moved on and am in a really healthy, happy marriage. It doesn’t seem like my life any longer. I work w domestic violence shelters and support victims. It’s ok to laugh at the images that have been created. https://t.co/Zup8szsDNb
— Taylor Armstrong (@TaylorArmstrong) October 27, 2019
— wiz (@lc28__) May 3, 2019
View this post on Instagram
