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Why Did JoCat Say He's Quitting Social Media? The 'I Like Girls' Harassment Controversy Explained
YouTuber JoCat's animated parody of Lizzo's "Boys" keeps going viral on X (formerly Twitter) every few weeks, featuring a cartoon catboy singing a refrain that goes "I like big girls, pretty kitty girls. Really witty girls. Singing ditty girls. I like the leggy girls. With the nice thighs. I like a good chest. No matter what size."
The seemingly harmless video managed to stir up quite a controversy after JoCat cited the harassment he received from the video going viral as a reason for him taking an indefinite social media break. Here's how internet discussions around cringe content devolved into a YouTuber being bullied off the internet, and why some people think he may have overreacted to the hate.
What Is JoCat's 'I Like Girls' Video?
Back in 2020, YouTuber JoCat streamed a partial release of the video game Baldur's Gate 3 at one point spontaneously breaking into a parody of Lizzo's song "Boys." The parody was later retitled "I Like Girls," with JoCat posting an animated version of the track to YouTube. The video showed differently shaped and sized female characters from various popular media franchises and received over 11 million views and 560,000 likes.
The lyrics of the song played on Lizzo's original track, gender-bending her appreciation for men into JoCat's appreciation for women.
I like
Big girls
Pretty kitty girls
Really witty girls
Singing ditty girls
I like the leggy girls
With the nice thighs
I like a good chest
No matter what size
I like the belly folds
I like the six packs
Really tall queens
And the short stacks
From the mild girls
To the wild girls
You got style, girls
Make ’em riled, girls
How Did Internet Users Initially React To JoCat's Song?
Early reactions to JoCat's video can be traced back to 2021, soon after the animation dropped. The virality and the positive reactions the video received on YouTube were directly in contrast to how other, more jaded corners of the internet saw it. iFunny users in particular seemed to take great offense to JoCat's video, as seen in a parody meme made by user @Luijiihad in November 2021.
Twitter users also began reposting JoCat's video a whole year later in 2023. The clips were often reposted with the sentiment being that JoCat was being "cringe" for expressing his love for women this way. The criticism got to the point where even JoCat began posting memes about how people seemed to be obsessed with dunking on him for clout.
Why Did JoCat Say He's Taking An 'Indefinite Break' From Social Media?
In December 2023, X user @ZeroSuitCamus unknowingly placed the final nail in the JoCat "I Like Girls" coffin by reposting the clip and saying, "Just made this video. Let me know what you think!" The post gathered only 6,000 likes but over 5 million views, mostly by a fresh wave of people dunking on the video.
A few days after @ZeroSuitCamus's post, JoCat announced that repeated harassment over his video has prompted him to remove himself from social media after wrapping up his last few projects. He went on to elaborate on how his life had been affected by the hate directed at him, citing "suspicious packages" that had been shipped to his family, and the "doxxing attempts" and threats of violence that had been directed at him and his loved ones.
However, JoCat also went on the clarify that @ZeroSuitCamus was not responsible for the harassment campaign he has suffered, and discouraged his followers from sending hate her way.
!How Did Internet Users React To JoCat's Statement?
The internet appeared to be split on the drama involving JoCat's "I Like Girls" video and @ZeroSuitCamus's joke about it, with some users roping her post in with the lasting harassment campaign against JoCat, and others criticizing JoCat for overreacting to a harmless joke that wasn't even directed at him.
For the full history of the JoCat "I Like Girls" harassment and doxxing controversy, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
