decade of decadence

The 10 most iconic viral meltdowns caught on tape over the last 10 years

As we enter into the roaring ’20s, Queerty is looking back on the last 10 years of culture in our “Decade of Decadence” series. We’ve seen an explosion in queer representation in film and TV, music, politics, and on social media. We’ve grown more aware of intersectionality, gender identity, and sexual fluidity and we’ve seen major social and political advancements across the globe. It’s been wild, wonderful decade, and we can hardly wait to see what the next one has in store.

The 2010s gave rise to what is known as the "viral video." OK, OK, viral videos existed before 2010, but it wasn't until the last decade that they really went, well, viral.

Thanks to smartphones and social media, videos can now rack up millions of views in a matter of hours. They get shared and re-shared, uploaded onto one platform, and then another, and then another, and then re-shared again, and again.

Sometimes people become famous from their viral videos. Other times they become infamous. Like these 10 bigots who wore their hate on their sleeves and, as a result, have been immortalized by the internet.

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As we enter into the roaring ’20s, Queerty is looking back on the last 10 years of culture in our “Decade of Decadence” series. We’ve seen an explosion in queer representation in film and TV, music, politics, and on social media. We’ve grown more aware of intersectionality, gender identity, and sexual fluidity and we’ve seen major social and political advancements across the globe. It’s been wild, wonderful decade, and we can hardly wait to see what the next one has in store.

The 2010s gave rise to what is known as the “viral video.” OK, OK, viral videos existed before 2010, but it wasn’t until the last decade that they really went, well, viral.

Thanks to smartphones and social media, videos can now rack up millions of views in a matter of hours. They get shared and re-shared, uploaded onto one platform, and then another, and then another, and then re-shared again, and again.

Sometimes people become famous from their viral videos. Other times they become infamous. Like these 10 bigots who wore their hate on their sleeves and, as a result, have been immortalized by the internet.

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Becky Wegner Rommel

The Christian extremist from Indiana became an overnight internet sensation in 2015 when she took a break from cleaning to post a video of herself freaking out over marriage equality. After the video went viral, Rommel quickly deleted it from Facebook, but not before several other people reposted it to YouTube, where it has lived ever since, racking up millions of views. The video has also inspired countless memes, parodies, and even a few Halloween costumes.

Related: Christian Extremist Records Herself Imploding Over Marriage Equality In Must-See Video

Anonymous Pedicure Lady

I’ve been holding back sharing this, but what kind of social justice warrior would I be staying quiet?This situation occurred at my favorite foot spa in Lynnwood, Washington.She enters the spa with commotion, and then proceeds to engage in a speakerphone / FaceTime dialogue with her daughter. The staff are already irritated, as well as the patrons.Being the outspoken gent that I am, I say “mam, would you kindly mind taking your phone off speaker in the spa?”She looks at her FaceTime call and goes “hold on, I need to take care of this faggot”.And at this moment I was able to record:Please take a minute to view and share this, and know that even in the Seattle region, life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows for the lgbt community. I hope her family and friends see this one day, and are embarrassed by her despicable behavior. There is still work to do folks. #resist

Posted by Christopher Brown on Thursday, January 3, 2019

All Christopher Brown wanted was to enjoy a nice mani-pedi after the craziness of the holidays last December. But the woman next to him would not stop talking on speakerphone. When he politely asked her to stop, she went off on him, calling him a “f*ggot, sissy, queer” and claiming that he’s jealous of her having a “p*ssy” before getting up from her chair while shouting, “Eat my p*ssy! Eat it! How’s that f*g? Queer!”

Related: Woman launches into antigay tirade against man getting pedicure, screams “Eat my p*ssy! Eat it!”

Alec Baldwin

In 2013, the toxic male actor had a series of homophobic meltdowns followed by half-hearted apologies. In June of that year, he called a reporter a “toxic little queen” on Twitter and threatened that he was “gonna f*ck you… up.” Baldwin later issued an apology and insisted he was “in no way” homophobic. Then, in November of that year, he did it again. Only this time, he called a member of the paparazzi a “c*cksucking f*g” on camera. He later denied saying the words, even though everyone saw the tape, then paraded around his gay hairdresser to try and prove to everyone he’s not a homophobe.

Related: Alec Baldwin back to his old ways, bashing gay men and generally being a toxic male

Jennifer Boyle (A.K.A. “Michael’s Lady)

It was November 2016 and Donald Trump had just been elected. The nation was still reeling and all Jennifer Boyle wanted was a $1 reusable bag from Michael’s… for free. When the cashier told her the bag cost $1, Boyle, who proudly voted for Trump, went on a racist tirade against the woman, calling her an “animal,” before turning her rage against a young mother. After the video went viral, another video of her berating a gay barista in Chicago over a bottle of water emerged. She later told her local news station, “There’s not one bone in my body that’s racist or homophobic. And that’s the bottom line.”

Related: Woman Who Screamed At Michaels Staff Also Berated Coffee Shop Employees In Boystown And It’s All On Tape

Robert Ortiz

In 2018, the gay, Trump-supporting Lyft passenger was caught delivering a racist 16-minute tirade against a Black driver who refused to change the radio station. After the video hit the internet, Ortiz was fired from his job at an urgent care center. He later said his behavior was the result of him being really drunk and insisted that he’s totally not racist even though he called the driver the N-word and said he was going to make his life “a living hell.”

Related: The Lyft passenger who went viral for his racist tirade says he’s sorry and totally not racist

Lee Bright

While debating whether South Carolina should stop flying the racist Confederate flag over its capitol in 2015, Sen. Lee Bright launched into a bizarre and off-topic rant about the White House being lit up in “abomination colors” (a.k.a. rainbow colors) after the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality. “The devil is taking control of this land!” Bright warned colleagues. “Christ teaches us to love the homosexual, but he also teaches us to stand in the gap against sin!”

Activist Mommy

MOM BLOGGER BURNS TEEN VOGUE MAGAZINE!

"OPERATION PULL TEEN VOGUE" is underway! Teen Vogue Magazine must be pulled from all store shelves! It is a danger to children. Please SHARE to warn others. #PullTeenVogue #TheActivistMommy #RoarMamaBears

Posted by Elizabeth Johnston – Activist Mommy on Thursday, July 13, 2017

The mother of 10 made a spectacle out of burning a copy of Teen Vogue that contained an anal sex guide that promoted safe sex practices in 2017. “I cannot believe what this Teen Vogue piece of trash has printed!” she hollered. “They are teaching children how to be safely sodomized! They are teaching kids how to have anal intercourse! We should not be teaching children, period, how to have sex.” Then she ripped the magazine apart one page at a time and threw it into a bonfire.

Related: Mother-of-ten burns a copy of Teen Vogue’s anal sex guide in amazing video meltdown

Glenn Beck (Remember him?)

In 2014, the conservative radio host went on a rant about Brendan Eich resigning from his post as CEO of Mozilla after it was discovered he had donated $1,000 to California’s antigay Prop 8 initiative in 2008. Beck was furious over this and called LGBTQ activists who pressured Eich to resign “nothing but a terrorist organization” that just want to “keep everyone in fear.” He went on to say something was “really wrong here” then asked if it was still OK to call people gay because “I don’t know if it’s homosexual or if it’s queer! I don’t know anymore! Because you keep changing the rules!”

Related: Hey, Gays! Glenn Beck Thinks You’re All A Bunch Of “Terrorists”

Judy Tucker

The 72-year-old and her grown son, Robbie, became Internet Public Enemies #1 and #2 in June 2018 after video emerged of them attacking two female soldiers, one of whom was pregnant, inside a family restaurant in Macon, Georgia, calling them “gay black bitches” and other awful slurs before Judy was taken away in handcuffs by police. After the video went viral, she was banned from the restaurant, fired from her job, and nicknamed “Thug Granny” by the media.

Related: Woman caught on tape launching homophobic attack against two soldiers, carted off to jail sobbing

Christopher Cantwell

After participating in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, the homophobic alt-right neo-Nazi recorded himself literally sobbing after learning there was a warrant out for his arrest after threatening people with violence, earning himself the nickname “The Crying Nazi.” In 2018, he pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery for pepper spraying two people at the rally.

Related: Gay-hating neo-Nazi sobs like a baby after learning he’s wanted for arrest in Charlottesville

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