KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — A lawyer in Texas became an internet sensation after he unintentionally activated a cat filter on Zoom during a virtual court hearing.
During the call, Judge Roy Ferguson at the session told the lawyer, “I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings”.
County attorney Rod Ponton whose appearance took the form of a fluffy white feline told the judge he had no idea how to remove the filter.
“I’ve got my assistant here, she’s trying to, but I’m prepared to go forward with it.
“I’m here live, I’m not a cat,” he assured the attendees on the call.
A lawyer using Zoom had to let a judge know that he wasn’t a cat after inadvertently activating a face filter pic.twitter.com/vChc14mjM1
— Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) February 9, 2021
The hilarious incident which broke the monotony of the courtroom has been viewed 17 million times on Twitter at the time of writing.
It received 88,900 retweets, 35,500 quote tweets and 332,700 likes.
Ponton, 69, told Reuters he wasn’t sure how the filter took over his screen.
Following the mishap, Ferguson tweeted: “IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off.”
“This might be one of the greatest videos to ever grace the internet. The cat lawyer, its eyes, its voice, it’s all perfect,” freelance journalist Mikael Thalen wrote.
Omgggg. I’m laughing so hard there are tears running down my cheeks.
— Elaine (@LaBeanBall1) February 9, 2021
Is there a filter for Zoom that turns cats into lawyers?
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) February 9, 2021
Social media users were left in stitches at the Zoom gaffe, especially the cat’s large pleading eyes that mimicked the lawyer’s movements on the video conferencing app.
I just love the shifting of the eyes. I don't know if the camera tracked which way he was looking (would be a crafty way to make sure people are paying attention), but watching his eyes dart downward to the taskbar had me howling.
— Kergeey (@kergeey) February 9, 2021
"I'd like to get back to business right meow"
— RedRock (@RedRockWesterly) February 9, 2021
Since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out last year, video and web conferencing tools have replaced face to face meetings as many continue to work from home to flatten the curve.
While some are more tech-savvy in navigating apps such as Zoom, Cisco Webex and Microsoft Teams, others are still getting used to it, resulting in Zoom gaffes that have taken the internet by storm, just like the Texan cat lawyer.
Last year, a political director attended a virtual meeting as a potato after forgetting to turn off the filter from a virtual happy hour the Friday before.
A uni student named Jennifer made headlines last March when she went for a pee break but left her laptop camera on in front of her entire online class.
