The two images that make up the meme came from completely different corners of the internet, years apart.

The left panel is a screenshot from "Malibu Beach Party From Hell," the 14th episode of season two of *The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills*, which aired on December 5, 20115. During the episode, cast member Taylor Armstrong broke down while confronting Camille Grammer over gossip about Armstrong's allegedly abusive marriage to Russell Armstrong. Fellow housewife Kyle Richards tried to hold her back as she pointed and screamed at another partygoer8. The *Daily Mail* published a recap the next day on December 6, including the now-iconic still of Armstrong mid-scream, which spread online as a reaction image6.

The scene had a painful backstory. Armstrong later revealed she had been experiencing domestic violence, and after she filed for divorce and spoke publicly about the abuse, her ex-husband died by suicide2. Armstrong told *Oprah Daily* that during the screaming scene, she was "truly terrified for my life and my safety"3.

The right panel originated on June 19, 2018, when Tumblr user deadbefordeath posted a photo of a white cat sitting in a chair at a dinner table in front of a plate of vegetables, captioned "he no like vegetals"4. The post picked up over 50,300 likes and reblogs within a year6. The cat, from Ottawa, Ontario, was named Smudge. According to his owner Miranda Stillabower, Smudge was antisocial around humans and disliked not having a chair at the dinner table. When a guest left their seat (with salad still in front of it), Smudge hopped up and made his signature confused face5. An Instagram account, @smudge_lord, was created for him on May 27, 20194.

The combination happened on May 1, 2019, when Twitter user @MISSINGEGIRL posted both images together with the caption: "These photos together is making me lose it." The tweet blew up, pulling in over 78,900 retweets and 276,800 likes in two months4.

Woman Yelling at a Cat crossed from internet joke to mainstream cultural reference within months. Halloween 2019 saw numerous couples and groups dressing as Armstrong and Smudge, with Armstrong herself posing for photos with costumed fans3. The format appeared on protest signs in Guatemala and was used by institutions like Library and Archives Canada for public communication5.

The meme drew attention to a larger pattern of reality TV moments gaining second lives online, with writers citing it as a prime example of how previously aired media can find new cultural relevance years later through meme culture5. It also sparked conversation about the ethics of turning a moment of genuine distress into comedy, though Armstrong's public blessing helped ease those concerns2.

In Canadian politics, the template became a vehicle for expressing generational political divides during the 2019 federal election, with millennials using it to push back against older voters' support for the Liberal party7.

The meme's origin story stretches back nearly eight years before the two images were combined. The Armstrong screencap from December 2011 had already been circulating as a standalone reaction image on Twitter, 4chan, and other platforms for years6. Smudge's "he no like vegetals" photo similarly had its own life on Tumblr, where internet jargon in the caption helped it catch on, according to *Business Insider*'s Paige Leskin5. Both images were moderately popular on their own, but neither had broken through to mainstream meme status.

What @MISSINGEGIRL did on May 1, 2019, was simple but brilliant: she put them next to each other6. The pairing worked because of the implied narrative. One image shows someone screaming with intense emotion; the other shows a small creature looking utterly unbothered. The contrast was funny on its own, but the object-labeling format that Reddit users developed in June 2019 turned it into one of the most versatile templates of the year3.

Taylor Armstrong was initially surprised by the meme's popularity. She told *Oprah Daily* she first saw it in August 2019, in a version featuring "Boomers," "Millennials," and "Gen X" alongside Megan Mullally from *Will & Grace*3. "I never imagined of all my TV moments, that would be the one to become a 'meme' sensation," she said3. Armstrong leaned into it, engaging with fans who tagged her on social media and even clapping back when she went uncredited3.

Armstrong's willingness to participate helped keep the meme alive, but it also brought attention to the painful context of the original scene. When a Twitter user asked if it was difficult seeing that moment circulated, Armstrong responded on October 27, 2019: "That is my past and I have moved on and am in a really healthy, happy marriage. It doesn't seem like my life any longer. I work w domestic violence shelters and support victims. It's ok to laugh at the images that have been created"2.

Meanwhile, Smudge became an internet celebrity in his own right. His Instagram account hit 1.4 million followers, and a "Smudgeposting" Facebook group reached 23,000 members (both figures as of December 2019)5. Smudge's owners launched merchandise including clothing and coffee mugs, donating proceeds from t-shirt sales to the cat-rescuing nonprofit Furry Tails5. Celebrities got in on it too: NFL linebacker Bruce Davis and WWE wrestler John Cena posted Smudge memes and photos of themselves wearing Smudge shirts, while Snoop Dogg showed appreciation for the format5.

The meme crossed into institutional use as well. NFL player Stefon Diggs wore cleats featuring the meme during an interview. Library and Archives Canada used the format in a Facebook post explaining why employees sometimes handle rare books bare-handed5. In Canadian politics, the template was adapted to represent the divide between older Liberal voters and young Canadians critical of Justin Trudeau, posted to the Facebook page *Leftist Memes for New Democratic Teens* on September 30, 20197.

In April 2020, a recreation of the meme built in a modded version of *The Sims 4* by SimplySimmer19 hit over 42,000 upvotes on Reddit5. Artist Bruce Sterling later recreated it in art styles from different historical periods, and Lego builder Ochre Jelly made a brick recreation where the argument was about stepping on Lego pieces5.

The meme won Meme of the Year at the 12th Shorty Awards on May 3, 2020, presented to both Armstrong and Smudge5. Publications named it one of the best memes of both 2019 and the entire 2010s decade, and *Time* magazine topped its 2020 list of popular online cats with Smudge5.