Who Is ‘LesbianBabadook’ and Why Is Everyone on Twitter Standing With Her?
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#IStandWithLesbianBabadook has been trending on Twitter today, and no, it regrettably has nothing to do with an LGBTQ+ spinoff of the 2014 horror film The Babadook. The hashtag actually references an online spat between actor Aimee Carrero and Twitter user @Lesbianbabadook, during which Carrero failed to understand meme culture.
The voice actor for She-Ra, of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, reposted a meme that referenced her, and claimed it was a death threat, seemingly not understanding it was meant to be a joke about the class divide:
She’s so brave to block me. Here is the tweet in case she deletes it: pic.twitter.com/oVBmWe3uak
— Aimee Carrero (@aimeecarrero) April 9, 2020
The meme used the same format as a previous meme featuring legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk, which made a similar joke, just in the context of a race war. Hawk reacted differently, which in contrast to Carrero’s case, earned him praise in the meme community:
For context, here’s Tony Hawk meme. pic.twitter.com/XjD0MS4FKS
— GENERAL SHADOW – TURN INTO A CARD AND DRIVE A CAR (@BigChapAlien) April 9, 2020
Most reactions focused on Carrero’s failure to understand meme culture, and for taking the joke about “class warfare” too personally:
That’s a lot of words for “I don’t know what memes are”
#IStandWithLesbianBabadook pic.twitter.com/PkNA3BoPf1— Fart Decider (@MrChrisSult) April 9, 2020
Tony Hawk understands the people because he is the people.
When you threaten class warfare, the class of opposition has enough unity to want you destroyed for it. #IStandWithLesbianBabadook pic.twitter.com/Kru4bIyqND
— DOG | Corgian (@DoghouseCorgian) April 9, 2020
#IStandWithLesbianBabadook The fact that she is 31 years old and sending thousands of people out to send actual death threats is disgusting. If she really had a problem with she should have took it to dms. If minors in the she-ra fan base have to call you out something is wrong. pic.twitter.com/i1c4QADEuT
— ???????— ? (@persephoniie) April 9, 2020
the rich are calling memes death threats, i hate it here #IStandWithLesbianBabadook
— Nantucket (@GayNantucket) April 9, 2020
Many also took issue with the fact that Carrero failed to blackout the username of the much smaller Twitter account @Lesbianbabadook, which is apparently run by a minor, forcing them to go private due to the increased attention:
The va’s husband has also joined in on trying to reach out to lesbianbabadook pic.twitter.com/WR6927kE68
— jay from moonstone (@almostaquatic) April 9, 2020
Get a grip, you’re a grown adult harassing a minor for making a meme, not even meant to be seen by you. This is clearly not a targeted death threat and you could’ve spoken to them privately. Don’t you rich people got more shit to be pressed about?#IStandWithLesbianBabadook https://t.co/usAckc4EAX
— Ferrah ??️⚧️ (@ferrahmei) April 9, 2020
#IStandWithLesbianBabadook is now currently trending at number four on Twitter and has been mentioned by more than 6,000 users. When history comes calling, where will you say you stood?
