Gov. Kathy Hochul is getting roasted on Twitter for ruining a meme featuring pop star Usher as it went viral earlier this week.
“I’m tired of seeing good meme’s coming in here and dying on my table. THAT WAS A GOOD MEME! HAD IT’S WHOLE FUTURE IN FRONT OF IT,” comedian Roy Wood, Jr. of “The Daily Show,” skewered the governor’s use of the meme in a July 5 tweet.
Twitter users typically include the “watch this” meme to demonstrate defiant verve in various situations – whether the topic is children going to bed or New Yorkers responding to the latest political developments.
Then came Hochul.
“Supreme Court: We’re going to make it harder for the government to limit dangerous emissions and fight climate change,” Hochul tweeted atop the five-second clip from Usher’s hit performance in “Confessions, Pt. II.”
The post referenced the recent SCOTUS decision limiting the regulatory powers of the Environmental Protection Agency, leaving a vacuum in environmental oversight that Hochul has vowed to overcome through statewide action.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is getting roasted on Twitter for ruining a meme featuring pop star Usher. @GovKathyHochul“New York is once again in the familiar, but unwelcome, position of stepping up after the Supreme Court strikes a blow to our basic protections,” Hochul wrote.
Her rhetoric on the issue echoes remarks on SCOTUS decisions affecting abortion rights and state rules on carrying concealed weapons. Hochul is running for a full term in office in the Nov. 8 election against Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk).
But the wonky Tweet response to the EPA decision provoked mockery of Hochul from Twitter users.
Twitter users typically include the meme to demonstrate defiant verve in various situations. NPR“Official time of death for the Usher meme: 4:04p, 7/5/22,” pronounced Jemelle Hill of The Atlantic in one widely-shared Tweet, referring to the time Hochul’s Usher meme landed with a thud online.
Political players in state politics also offered their own hot takes on Hochul’s meme choice.
“You called a special session for gun rights and abortion due to the court overstep. We need one to pass #BuildPublicRenewables now!” a coalition of green groups tweeted in reference to outstanding legislation that would encourage more renewable energy projects by the state.
A spokeswoman for Hochul did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
