The Memeifiction Of Adam Levine's Cheating Scandal — Why We Make Jokes Of Men’s Mistreatment Of Women
Some of these are admittedly hilarious.
DFree/Shutterstock/Twitter The internet is back at it again.
Following the Adam Levine cheating scandal, it seems the internet has found another way to meme-ify the situation.
Levine has been the subject of controversy after multiple women came forward with screenshots of messages he allegedly sent appearing to flirt with people behind his wife's back.
The Maroon 5 frontman, who has been married to the mother of his soon-to-be three children since 2014, is now meme culture's latest target thanks to his brazen messages that have lent themselves to a range of jokes.
Adam Levine's alleged cheating DMs have become a viral meme.
The many messages he allegedly sent have been spun into jokes, viral tweets and hilarious videos but the story behind the memeification of Levine runs much deeper.
In a world that thrives off of quick thrills and virality, memes have become one of the simplest — albeit somewhat low-brow — means of expressing an emotional reaction.
Perhaps it's the apparent level of shamelessness Levine possessed that has inspired the ruthless mocking — the edited memes are, after all, not far from the reality Levine was hiding from his wife.
Or, could it be that, thanks to many equally viral cheating scandals (we're looking at you, Tristan Thompson) we've had to become innovative when it comes to processing the audacity of men?
The cheating scandal has awoken conversations about power dynamics and who gets blamed when a man cheats on his wife.
In Levine's case, the first woman to come forward, Sumner Stroh, has taken the brunt of the public's vitriol.
While Levine is the subject of memes, Stroh is fielding hate comments and death threats across her social media.
In a way, the memeification of the scandal has reclaimed the narrative for the women involved — Levine is now the butt of the joke rather than them.
But, the fact that the worst response he has received is some memes while these women have been battling vicious hatred once again proves the double standard that exists between men and women.
Even popular beauty brands, like E.L.F. are using the meme to help promote their products.
This isn’t the first time that with a serious situation like cheating, the internet finds a way to get a laugh out of it.
Khloe Kardashian recently spoke about the impacts of this ridiculing in the season two premiere of Hulu's "The Kardashians" as cameras followed her in the aftermath of Thompson's paternity scandal.
“I wanted to keep this private for my loved ones as long as possible and not have this be some media frenzy that people get to just play with and run with,” Kardashian says of her decision to keep her surrogate's pregnancy with her second child a secret.
“I can’t hear about this for months about what an idiot I am.”
While it may seem fair to put blame on Levine, it's hard not to think of what Prinsloo — who is currently pregnant — is going through when you observe Kardashian's experience.
But memeing celebrity scandals can be even more damaging than this.
We witnessed this in the form of some intense memeing throughout the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial.
Following Heard’s testimony, the internet blew up with memes making fun of how she acted on the stand.
Many people since then have pointed out how the memes and popular culture surrounding the trial can be detrimental to rape victims wishing to come forward.
There is a shared message in all these viral memes, opening up about personal, often traumatizing experiences, makes you vulnerable to mockery.
Despite the stance you fall on, there is no denying that memes are a way for people to communicate with one another. They’re popular and there won’t be an easy way to stop them.
However, it’s easy to make a meme on this cheating scandal and turn off your computer because you aren’t the one getting cheated on. You don’t have to deal with the ramifications.
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Victoria Soliz is a writer with YourTango who covers news and entertainment content. Her work explores pop culture trends, film and TV, and celebrity news.