In August 2025, a video of an American mother of eight grabbing a young girl by the ponytail in Venice, Italy, and demanding the return of her stolen passport reignited a year-long internet joke: European pickpockets should learn to fear American tourists.

The clip, which went viral across the internet and prompted widespread media coverage, showed her holding on as the girl screamed, insisting, "I have eight kids, you’re not getting to me."

But jokes about Americans fighting European pickpockets go back even further, with stories about American tourists baiting pickpockets with exploding iPhones and electric wallets circulating soon after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

So, what's fact and what's just another tall tale? Let's break down the many rumors, reactions and memes surrounding the supposed cliché.

Where Did All The Stories About Americans Fighting Pickpockets Originate?

Pickpocketing thrives in tourist-heavy European cities, with Italy, France and Spain topping the list of incidents.

In 2024, the U.S. State Department issued a Paris Olympics advisory, warning visitors not to resist thieves and stating, "DON’T resist if you are mugged; you can get badly hurt. If you catch a pickpocket in the act, DON’T go for him unless a police officer is nearby; some pickpockets carry knives."

The advisory, however, did not stop Americans from spinning counter-narratives online.

TikToker Robby Witt (@thesephew) was one of the first major influencers to share feel-good stories about Americans serving justice to petty thieves.

On August 6th, 2024, Witt posted a TikTok claiming an American man from Texas threw a Paris pickpocket down a flight of stairs at an Olympic venue, sending him to the hospital. The clip reached 7.8 million views and 700,000 likes over the following year.

@thesephew Replying to @Jordi dont mess with texas #storytime #revenge #olympics ♬ original sound – TheRobbyShow

Witt followed with stories about American tourists carrying thumbtacked and razor-blade wallets, exploding iPhones and even sabotaged cameras, all fictional. His TikTok and YouTube bios clearly read, "60 Second Sitcoms. Original Fictional Stories to make you laugh!" but unknowing audiences shared them as real anecdotes.

How Did Stories About American Tourists Fighting Pickpockets Spread?

On August 7th, 2024, Robby Witt posted a TikTok video about a tourist carrying an electric-zapper wallet and supposedly leaving a Parisian pickpocket with an "irregular heartbeat," raking in millions of views and over 300,000 likes in a year as the rumors about Americans combating pickpockets in Europe continued garnering attention online.

@thesephew Replying to @Tine paris pickpocket drama #storytime #revenge #olympics ♬ original sound – TheRobbyShow

Writers repeated the claims too. On August 17th, 2024, Medium contributor Toni Crowe published an article, citing Witt’s stories as fact.

A year later, the Instagram page @rogueamericanapparel posted a meme citing "American tourists fighting back" that pulled in over 1,700 likes in roughly two months.

What's the Story Behind the Viral Video of an American Woman Grabbing a Venice Pickpocket by the Hair?

The meme rumor mill met reality in mid-August 2025 when another incident swept social media and made headlines around the world.

On August 15th, TikToker @karismcelroy posted footage of her mother in Venice gripping a screaming young girl by her ponytail. The woman can be heard shouting, "I have eight kids, you’re not getting to me," while holding the alleged thief until Italian police arrived. The video gathered more than 3 million views and 400,000 likes in two weeks.

@karismcelroy Venice pickpocketers picked the wrong mom to mess with 😂😭 #jet2holiday #foryoupage #pickpocketing #venice ♬ original sound – NYES | Fashion

Unlike Witt's booby-trapped wallets, this incident came with eyewitness footage and a daughter vouching for the story, and cemented jokes about how you really shouldn't mess with the vacation plans of an American who probably saved up for 10 years to take some rare time off.

What Are Some More Memes About Americans Fighting Pickpockets?

After going viral, the Venice video then inspired fresh meme riffs. On August 19th, 2025, TikToker @moonlitthorn posted a clip of the Hulk slamming Loki into the ground from The Avengers, captioned, "European after trying to pickpocket an American who is trying to enjoy their once-in-a-lifetime trip they’ve been saving for 10 years for." It scored over 1 million views and 260,000 likes in just under 10 days.

@moonlitthorn Just a heads up, don’t pickpocket Americans. #fypシ #pickpocket #europetravel #traveltiktok ♬ original sound – moonlitthorn

Such memes also spread to Reddit when Redditor Geekz_RPG posted a Man vs. Giant meme to the /r/dankmemes subreddit depicting an "American Tourist" vs. a "European pickpocketer," which received nearly 20,000 upvotes and numerous reposts in the four days after.

Even more recently, on August 26th, TikToker @zaynahbear posted a video showing her smacking the camera alongside a caption that read, "The last thing a European pickpocket sees after trying to rob an American." The post gathered over 200,000 plays and 50,000 likes in two days as more and more continued to riff on the concept.

@zaynahbear

These stories are so funny to me 🤣

♬ Bernie Mac belt – KingSwole410

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For the full history of American Tourists Fighing European Pickpockets, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.