# Leeroy Jenkins > Leeroy Jenkins is a 2005 World of Warcraft viral video featuring player Ben Schulz screaming his character's name while charging into battle, wiping his party and becoming gaming's most iconic shorthand for reckless charging. Leeroy Jenkins is a World of Warcraft character whose player charged into battle screaming his own name, wiping out his entire party in a 2005 video that became one of gaming's most iconic memes. Created by Ben Schulz and his guild "Pals for Life," the clip turned a reckless in-game moment into a universal shorthand for charging into any situation without thinking. ## Origin Ben Schulz created the Leeroy Jenkins character while playing World of Warcraft with his college friends in the guild "Pals for Life"[4]. The original video, titled "Leeroy!!," was uploaded to Warcraftmovies.com on May 11, 2005[3]. The guild posted the video to the official World of Warcraft forums under the thread title "UBRS (vid) Rookery Overpowered! blue plz." and asked other players for help with strategy, framing the clip in a serious context[5]. Schulz later explained in a 2008 NPR interview that the players "were drinking 40s and just yelling at each other" during the recording[5]. The video was filmed by Ben "Anfrony" Vinson, a friend who would later co-confirm the clip's true nature[4]. The question of whether it was real dogged the video for over a decade. Schulz preferred letting viewers decide for themselves[4]. Then in December 2017, Schulz and Vinson released what they called a "first take" or dry run, confirming the video was staged. Vinson said, "We didn't think anyone would believe it was real, we thought it was so obviously satire"[5]. - **Platform:** Warcraftmovies.com (original upload), YouTube (viral spread) - **Creator:** Ben Schulz (player/character creator), Ben "Anfrony" Vinson (videographer) - **Date:** 2005 ## Overview The Leeroy Jenkins video shows a World of Warcraft guild called "Pals for Life" meticulously planning their strategy for a notoriously difficult area called the Rookery in Upper Blackrock Spire[5]. The players discuss precise positioning, timing, and even calculate their survival odds at "32.33 percent, repeating of course." While this planning unfolds, one member, Leeroy Jenkins, is away from his keyboard. He returns, shouts "Alright, let's do this! LEEEROOOY JEEENKINS!" and charges straight into the room full of dragonspawn[4]. His stunned guildmates scramble to save him, but the chaotic rush triggers a swarm of hatching dragon whelps that kills everyone[5]. When his teammates chew him out, Leeroy's only response is the now-legendary line: "At least I have chicken." The comedy works on multiple levels. There's the contrast between the guild's obsessive, military-grade planning and Leeroy's total obliviousness. There's the slow-motion disaster as each party member realizes what's happening. And there's that perfect deadpan closer about chicken[5]. ## How It Spread The original Warcraftmovies upload accumulated over 1.7 million views, but the real explosion came after it hit YouTube[4]. The first YouTube upload appeared on November 19, 2005, though a second upload on August 6, 2006, was the one that took off, reaching over 30 million views by May 2012[4]. PC Gamer UK was the first media outlet to cover the video in their May 2005 issue, running an article titled "The Ballad of Leeroy Jenkins" that argued the video was a commentary on obsessive raid-planning guilds[5]. The clip soon broke out of gaming circles entirely. The Guardian included it in a 2006 feature on machinima, describing Leeroy as "the over-zealous idiot in the workplace who's gung-ho abandon threatens every project he's put on"[2]. PC World also covered the video's cultural impact[4]. The meme crossed into mainstream television when it appeared as a question on Jeopardy![4]. From there, references popped up across popular culture: How I Met Your Mother, Barry, a Toyota Tacoma advertisement set in World of Warcraft, deleted scenes from Year One and Monsters vs. Aliens, and a mention in Mass Effect[5]. Jon Stewart's The Daily Show used the Leeroy Jenkins clip in 2012 when covering the Republican Convention[5]. Family Guy later based part of its "Veteran Guy" episode on the original video[5]. ## How to Use The Leeroy Jenkins meme typically follows one pattern: someone (or something) charges into a situation with zero planning or awareness, wrecking a carefully laid plan. Common uses include: 1. **The battle cry** — Yelling "LEEEROOOY JEEENKINS!" before doing something impulsive, reckless, or just enthusiastic. Works for everything from starting a work project to ordering food. 2. **The comparison** — Calling someone "the Leeroy Jenkins of [group/situation]" when they act without consulting the team. 3. **The video reference** — Quoting "at least I have chicken" after a spectacular failure. 4. **The verb** — "He Leeroy Jenkins'd the whole meeting" meaning someone torpedoed a planned approach by acting unilaterally. ## Cultural Impact Few gaming memes have crossed into as many non-gaming contexts. The video earned a Jeopardy! question, putting World of Warcraft terminology on network television game shows[4]. The Guardian's 2006 machinima feature used Leeroy Jenkins as its primary example of gaming video crossing into mainstream awareness[2]. The meme's reach into American politics is striking. Jon Stewart used it on The Daily Show in 2012[5]. A military journal published an academic analysis connecting Leeroy's behavior to American foreign policy strategy[5]. Two different political commentators referenced it during significant political moments in 2019 and 2023[5]. Blizzard's decision to canonize Leeroy within their own games was unusual for the time. The character went from community joke to official trading card to in-game NPC to Hearthstone Legendary, a progression that turned a player-created moment into permanent game lore[5]. ## Fun Facts - Ben Schulz was away from his keyboard making a plate of chicken during the planning phase, which is why his "at least I have chicken" retort actually makes in-universe sense[5]. - The guild calculated their survival odds at "32.33 percent, repeating of course," a number that became a meme in its own right among WoW players. - Schulz chose to become an electrical engineer instead of capitalizing on his viral fame, turning down multiple offers from video game companies[4]. - The original Warcraftmovies upload sat at around 1.7 million views while the YouTube version hit over 30 million, showing how much platform mattered for reach in the mid-2000s[4]. - Ben Vinson, who filmed the original video, went on to found Kongregate, the browser gaming platform[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Leeroy Jenkins? Leeroy Jenkins is a World of Warcraft character played by Ben Schulz who became famous through a 2005 viral video where he charges into battle screaming his name, ignoring his guild's plan and getting everyone killed[4]. ### Where did Leeroy Jenkins come from? The video was first uploaded to Warcraftmovies.com on May 11, 2005, by the guild "Pals for Life." It later spread to YouTube and mainstream media[4][3]. ### What does Leeroy Jenkins mean? Shouting "Leeroy Jenkins" or calling someone a Leeroy Jenkins means charging into something recklessly without planning. It's used as both a battle cry and a descriptor for impulsive behavior[6]. ### How do you use Leeroy Jenkins? Yell "LEEEROOOY JEEENKINS!" before doing something impulsive, or use his name to describe someone who ruins a plan by acting without thinking. "At least I have chicken" works as a post-failure consolation[6]. ### Is Leeroy Jenkins still popular? The meme is a recognized piece of internet history. Blizzard added Leeroy content to Overwatch 2 as recently as 2024, and it was referenced in Congress in January 2023[5]. ### Was the Leeroy Jenkins video real or staged? Staged. In December 2017, Ben Schulz and videographer Ben Vinson released a "first take" and confirmed the video was meant as satire. Vinson said they didn't think anyone would believe it was real[5]. ### Who played Leeroy Jenkins? Ben Schulz, a Denver-based gamer who was in college when the video was made. He went on to become an electrical engineer rather than pursuing internet fame[4]. ### What does "at least I have chicken" mean? It's Leeroy's response when his guildmates blame him for the wipe. Schulz's character had been away making chicken while the others planned, so the line is both a non-sequitur and oddly logical[5]. ### Did Blizzard officially recognize Leeroy Jenkins? Yes, extensively. Blizzard added a WoW achievement ("Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy!"), a trading card, a miniature figurine, a Hearthstone Legendary card, an NPC, and Overwatch 2 voice lines all referencing the character[5][4]. ### Was Leeroy Jenkins on Jeopardy!? Yes. The character appeared as a question on the game show Jeopardy!, one of the earliest examples of a gaming meme crossing into mainstream television[4]. ### What happened to Ben Schulz after the video? He attended BlizzCon with Global Gaming League in 2006, gave a keynote at ROFLCon, turned down offers from game companies, and pursued electrical engineering. He eventually stopped playing WoW[4]. ### Has Leeroy Jenkins been referenced in politics? Multiple times. An Armed Forces Journal article in 2009 compared Leeroy to American military advisory strategy, Ben Shapiro compared Trump to Leeroy in 2019, and Rep. Jared Huffman referenced the meme during the 2023 Speaker vote[5]. ## References 1. [Leeroy Jenkins Immortalized In WoW Card Game: News from 1UP.com]() 2. [Guerilla gaming | Film | The Guardian]() 3. [Leeroy!! By ctidalwave - World of Warcraft Movies]() 4. [Leeroy Jenkins - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Leeroy Jenkins]() 6. [Leeroy Jenkins - Urban Dictionary]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/leeroy-jenkins Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library