# They Shrank His Shoulders Made Him Look Soft > They Shrank His Shoulders, Made Him Look Soft is a May 2020 Reddit copypasta about Joel's diminished character model in *The Last of Us Part II*, spawning hundreds of before-and-after parody images. "They Shrank His Shoulders, Made Him Look Soft" is a copypasta and meme format that originated from a Reddit post criticizing the character model of Joel in *The Last of Us Part II*. Posted on May 28, 2020, the original complaint about Joel's supposedly diminished physique was quickly turned into a joke, spawning hundreds of parody "before and after" comparison images on r/Gamingcirclejerk and beyond[1]. ## Origin On May 28, 2020, Reddit user thisuseriswaiting posted a side-by-side comparison of Joel as he appears in the 2013 game *The Last of Us* and his updated model in the 2020 sequel *The Last of Us Part II*[2]. The post, made to r/TheLastOfUs2 subreddit, carried the caption: "That's weird. They shrank his shoulders, made him look soft.." The implication was that developer Naughty Dog had deliberately weakened Joel's appearance, a complaint that fit into a broader wave of backlash against the sequel from certain corners of the gaming community[1]. The post received 76 upvotes in its original subreddit[2]. That same day, Reddit user Sons-of-N7 crossposted it to r/Gamingcirclejerk, a subreddit dedicated to mocking gaming community overreactions. The crosspost blew up, pulling in over 17,000 upvotes within a month[2]. - **Platform:** Reddit (r/TheLastOfUs2 original post, r/Gamingcirclejerk viral spread) - **Creator:** u/thisuseriswaiting (original poster), u/Sons-of-N7 (crosspost that went viral) - **Date:** 2020 ## Overview The meme follows a simple two-panel format: a "before" image of a character, person, or object looking tough or imposing is placed next to an "after" image where the same subject appears softer, smaller, or less intimidating. The caption reads some variation of "They shrank his shoulders, made him look soft." The humor comes from applying this hyper-specific gamer grievance to absurd, unrelated comparisons where the "softening" is either wildly exaggerated or completely nonsensical[1]. The format works as a satire of a specific strain of gamer outrage culture, where minor character design changes in video game sequels get treated as deliberate attacks on masculinity[1]. ## How It Spread The mockery started almost immediately. On May 28, 2020, the same day as the original post, Reddit user Wehdeo created the first known parody in r/Gamingcirclejerk. It used the same before-and-after format but applied it to Leon Kennedy's character models from *Resident Evil 2* (1998) versus its 2019 remake, earning over 7,200 upvotes in one month[2]. The next day, May 29, user PowerfulCoward escalated the joke further by comparing Marvel's War Machine to actor Don Cheadle, who plays the character. That post pulled 15,700+ upvotes[2]. On June 11, SuperTeddyRoosevelt applied the format to the PlayStation 5 console itself, comparing it unfavorably to... itself. That version hit over 19,100 upvotes in two weeks, making it one of the most popular entries[2]. The meme spread primarily through r/Gamingcirclejerk but also appeared in other circlejerk-style subreddits[2]. eBaum's World covered the trend, framing it as a case study in gamer overreaction, describing the imagined scenario of someone raging about their "favorite Male character" getting "a new shirt and sunken shoulders"[1]. The format's appeal was its flexibility. Anything with two images could be compared: video game characters, real people, animals, inanimate objects. The punchline always landed the same way, mocking the idea that slightly different proportions constituted some kind of cultural attack[1]. ## How to Use The format typically follows this pattern: 1. Pick any two images of the same subject where the second looks slightly different, smaller, or "softer" than the first. The more ridiculous the comparison, the better. 2. Label the first image as the original or earlier version. 3. Label the second image as the "updated" or later version. 4. Caption the whole thing with some variation of "They shrank his shoulders, made him look soft" or adapt the phrasing to fit your subject. ## Cultural Impact The meme captured a specific moment in gaming culture during the lead-up to *The Last of Us Part II*'s June 2020 release. The game had already been a lightning rod for controversy due to leaked plot details, and complaints about Joel's character model fit into a larger pattern of backlash that critics saw as rooted in culture war anxieties rather than genuine design critique[1]. eBaum's World described the original post as representative of gamers who believed "the SJW's have come for our video games," treating a minor character model update as evidence of a broader political agenda[1]. The meme's rapid adoption as a joke format effectively neutralized the original complaint by turning it into a punchline. The format also served as a template for broader mockery of "they changed it, now it's bad" arguments across gaming, film, and media fandoms. ## Fun Facts - The original complaint compared Joel across a five-year in-game timeline. Joel is canonically older in the sequel, making the "softer" appearance a deliberate character design choice, not a political statement[2]. - The r/Gamingcirclejerk crosspost got over 200 times more upvotes than the original sincere complaint[2]. - The three biggest parody posts (War Machine, PS5, Resident Evil 2) all outperformed the original post by at least 100x in upvote count[2]. - eBaum's World openly admitted their writer had never played either Last of Us game but still found the gamer outrage worth covering[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "They Shrank His Shoulders, Made Him Look Soft"? It's a copypasta and meme format based on a Reddit complaint about Joel's character model in *The Last of Us Part II*. The original post sincerely criticized the character's updated appearance, but it was quickly turned into a joke format for mocking overblown gamer complaints[2]. ### Where did "They Shrank His Shoulders" come from? Reddit user thisuseriswaiting posted the original comparison in r/TheLastOfUs2 on May 28, 2020. It went viral after being crossposted to r/Gamingcirclejerk by user Sons-of-N7 the same day[2]. ### What does "They Shrank His Shoulders, Made Him Look Soft" mean? The original post argued that developers had deliberately made Joel look weaker in the sequel. As a meme, it satirizes the tendency of some gamers to interpret any character design change as a political attack on masculinity[1]. ### How do you use the "Shrank His Shoulders" meme? Place two images of the same subject side by side, with the second looking slightly different or smaller. Add a caption along the lines of "They shrank his shoulders, made him look soft" to mock the idea that a minor change is somehow significant[2]. ### Is "They Shrank His Shoulders" still popular? The format peaked in mid-2020 during the *Last of Us Part II* release window. It still gets used occasionally when gaming controversies around character design resurface, but most of its viral spread happened within r/Gamingcirclejerk during May-June 2020[2]. ### Who posted the original "Shrank His Shoulders" complaint? Reddit user thisuseriswaiting made the original sincere post in r/TheLastOfUs2 on May 28, 2020, where it got 76 upvotes[2]. ### Why was the meme associated with r/Gamingcirclejerk? The subreddit specializes in satirizing over-the-top gaming community reactions. The "Shrank His Shoulders" post was a perfect target for the community's brand of mockery, and the crosspost there received over 17,000 upvotes[2]. ### What was the most popular version of the meme? The PS5 console comparison by user SuperTeddyRoosevelt earned over 19,100 upvotes in just two weeks, making it one of the top-performing entries in the format[2]. ## References 1. ["They Shrank His Shoulders" Becomes a Copy Pasta After Male Gamers Cry SJW's Ruined Joel's Characters in the Last of Us 2 | eBaum's World]() 2. [They Shrank His Shoulders, Made Him Look Soft - Know Your Meme]() 3. [Professional wrestling]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/they-shrank-his-shoulders-made-him-look-soft Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library