This viral moment featuring a court hearing, a kitten filter and one very panicked lawyer will have you cackling

This is the content we need right now. It’s dark, snowing in some places, we’re stuck indoors for the foreseeable and, well, life is pretty gloomy. And then, a shining light arrives that makes you laugh so hard you wake your partner who had been sleeping next to you (true story).

This is a Zoom story that doesn’t involve someone thinking their microphone or worse, that camera is off. Friendship have ended, jobs lost and reputations tarnished because of that kind of thing.

No, this one is the best kind of viral story – mightily embarrassing for the person involved, but absolutely hilarious for everyone else. And probably some good marketing for Zoom too.

Zoom Cat

A lawyer in Texas (Zoom name: Rod Ponton) attended an online court hearing but found that he had accidentally activated a kitten filter, and was unable to remove it. Frantically trying to de-feline face, in his flustered agitation he almost starts to suggest that they go forward with the hearing with him as a cat, before feeling moved to reassure the judge that “I am not a cat”.

The judge, Judge Roy Ferguson of Texas’s 394th judicial district, is clearly trying not to giggle and reassures the lawyer, “I can see that”. Which seem like a very kind thing to do, but then, Judge Ferguson decided to Tweet it afterwards, saying that it serves an “educational purpose”, but it’s actually just gas. Take a look for yourself.

I can’t decide which is the best part, that he felt the need to state that he was not a cat, or the fact that the kitten’s face reflects the lawyer’s, the white evident around the eyes, the glazed look of panic and the head darting around the screen frantically.  

Actually, it’s all of the above. Happy Wednesday.