Ed Scarrys Ocasio Cortez Coat Tweet

2018viral tweetclassic

Ed Scarry's Ocasio-Cortez Coat Tweet is a November 2018 tweet by Washington Examiner columnist Eddie Scarry that showed a candid from-behind photo of newly elected congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, implying her outfit disproved her claims of financial hardship. The tweet was widely mocked, turned into a copypasta, and became famous for its lopsided reply-to-like ratio before Scarry deleted it.

backfire memescopypasta memespolitical satire memestwitter memes2018 memes

Overview

Ed Scarry's Ocasio-Cortez Coat Tweet refers to a November 15th, 2018 post by Washington Examiner conservative columnist Eddie Scarry, who shared a candid from-behind photo of freshly elected New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walking through the Capitol3. The caption suggested her clothing did not look like that of someone who could not afford a Washington D.C. apartment, echoing a conservative talking point about her earlier interviews1.

The tweet backfired instantly. Twitter users called it invasive and stalker-ish, turned Scarry's caption into a copypasta paired with absurd images, and mocked the post's ratio of 20,609 replies against just 397 retweets and 1,498 likes3. Scarry later deleted the tweet and claimed he was trying to compliment her wardrobe3.

How It Spread

Backlash arrived within hours. The Root ran a piece calling the photo stalker-ish and dismissing the clothes-shaming angle as bizarre coverage of a freshman lawmaker3. Journalists and ordinary users piled into the replies, and even right-leaning figure Mike Cernovich publicly told Scarry to delete the post3.

The tweet quickly became a copypasta template. User @xtop paired Scarry's caption with a photo of the IKEA Monkey and picked up over 600 retweets and 3,800 likes, while @nicjbae swapped in NBA player Carmelo Anthony for more than 560 retweets and 4,000 likes3. User @jmkris photoshopped Scarry's face and the tweet's engagement numbers onto the famous Wilt Chamberlain 100-point photo, framing the ratio as an all-time record bad tweet3.

Scarry eventually deleted the post and defended himself by claiming the tweet had been intended as a compliment3. Coverage of the incident kept circulating on political Twitter for weeks, and the tweet is still referenced as one of the early canonical examples of a viral Twitter ratio tied to Ocasio-Cortez's rise1.

How to Use This Meme

The copypasta format typically pairs Scarry's original caption, which questioned whether the subject really looked like someone struggling financially, with a photo of an obviously wealthy, absurd, or nonhuman subject. Common conventions include swapping in celebrities, cartoon characters, or animals such as the IKEA Monkey, so the joke lands through the mismatch between Scarry's earnest framing and a ridiculous image3.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ed Scarrys Ocasio Cortez Coat Tweet

2018viral tweetclassic

Ed Scarry's Ocasio-Cortez Coat Tweet is a November 2018 tweet by Washington Examiner columnist Eddie Scarry that showed a candid from-behind photo of newly elected congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, implying her outfit disproved her claims of financial hardship. The tweet was widely mocked, turned into a copypasta, and became famous for its lopsided reply-to-like ratio before Scarry deleted it.

backfire memes copypasta memes political satire memes twitter memes 2018 memes

Overview

Ed Scarry's Ocasio-Cortez Coat Tweet refers to a November 15th, 2018 post by Washington Examiner conservative columnist Eddie Scarry, who shared a candid from-behind photo of freshly elected New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walking through the Capitol3. The caption suggested her clothing did not look like that of someone who could not afford a Washington D.C. apartment, echoing a conservative talking point about her earlier interviews1.

The tweet backfired instantly. Twitter users called it invasive and stalker-ish, turned Scarry's caption into a copypasta paired with absurd images, and mocked the post's ratio of 20,609 replies against just 397 retweets and 1,498 likes3. Scarry later deleted the tweet and claimed he was trying to compliment her wardrobe3.

How It Spread

Backlash arrived within hours. The Root ran a piece calling the photo stalker-ish and dismissing the clothes-shaming angle as bizarre coverage of a freshman lawmaker3. Journalists and ordinary users piled into the replies, and even right-leaning figure Mike Cernovich publicly told Scarry to delete the post3.

The tweet quickly became a copypasta template. User @xtop paired Scarry's caption with a photo of the IKEA Monkey and picked up over 600 retweets and 3,800 likes, while @nicjbae swapped in NBA player Carmelo Anthony for more than 560 retweets and 4,000 likes3. User @jmkris photoshopped Scarry's face and the tweet's engagement numbers onto the famous Wilt Chamberlain 100-point photo, framing the ratio as an all-time record bad tweet3.

Scarry eventually deleted the post and defended himself by claiming the tweet had been intended as a compliment3. Coverage of the incident kept circulating on political Twitter for weeks, and the tweet is still referenced as one of the early canonical examples of a viral Twitter ratio tied to Ocasio-Cortez's rise1.

How to Use This Meme

The copypasta format typically pairs Scarry's original caption, which questioned whether the subject really looked like someone struggling financially, with a photo of an obviously wealthy, absurd, or nonhuman subject. Common conventions include swapping in celebrities, cartoon characters, or animals such as the IKEA Monkey, so the joke lands through the mismatch between Scarry's earnest framing and a ridiculous image3.

Frequently Asked Questions