What Is The Origin Of The Phrase "Leopards Ate My Face"? (2024)

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One of my favorite communities on Reddit is /LeopardsAteMyFace (LAMF). It’s a community dedicated to showcasing examples of how people have brought their own misfortune upon themselves. But where did the phrase come from? Here’s the origin story behind the Leopards Ate My Face Reddit community.

What Does “Leopards Ate My Face” Mean?

The phrase “Leopards ate my face” means someone was hurt by what they supported or voted for. It is often used in political contexts, but can also be applied to other situations.

What Is The Origin Of LAMF?

The phrase “Leopards ate my face” originated in a tweet by Adrian Bott (@cavalorn) on October 20, 2015. The tweet read:

“‘I never thought leopards would eat MY face,’ sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.”

The tweet went viral in 2015, spawning the popular expression “Leopards ate my face” to convey the idea that one has caused their own problems. Fast-forward to today, and people are still using the phrase to mock those who support policies that are ultimately against their own well-being.

The Creation Of The /LeopardsAteMyFace Subreddit

In March 2017, the subreddit r/LeopardsAteMyFace was created, dedicated to sharing examples of people getting exactly what they voted for and the consequences being dire. The subreddit has since grown to almost 1 million members and has become a popular destination for sharing stories and memes about self-inflicted harm.

How Is The LAMF Phrase Used?

The expression “Leopards ate my face” has been used in several ways, such as to depict individuals who have cast their ballots for politicians who have later implemented policies that had a detrimental effect on them, individuals who have patronized companies that have subsequently retrenched them, and individuals who have taken decisions that have ultimately resulted in negative consequences from something they voted for.

Here are some specific examples of the phrase “Leopards ate my face” being used in a variety of contexts:

• Politics:
  • A single mother named Crystal Minton voted for Donald Trump because she wanted him to “hurt” people who opposed him. But after the U.S. government shutdown in 2019, she found that she was the one being “hurt” by Trump. Minton, a secretary at a federal prison, was out of work during the shutdown and unable to care for her children and disabled parents. “I voted for him, and he’s the one who’s doing this,” Minton told The New York Times. “I thought he was going to do good things. He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”
  • After funding conservative candidates that were focused on abortion, bathrooms, and transgender restrictions, Republican Party megadonor Peter Thiel found himself unhappy with the party’s direction. As a result, he decided to restrain from donating to any candidates running for office in 2024. In response to the story, a Redditor in the LAMF community commented, “You bought the ticket Thiel, now you take the ride.”
  • Fueled by their religious convictions, Republicans in several states successfully passed laws banning books containing inappropriate sexual content and sensitive subject matters. Unexpectedly, The Bible fell under those restrictions and was also banned. Republican lawmakers are now trying to reverse the book bans that they created. Welcome to the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party!
• Business:
  • A person bought a product that was advertised as easy to assemble, but they found it difficult to put together. As a result, they had to hire someone to assemble it for them.
  • A customer who buys a product that is advertised as being “long-lasting,” only to find that it breaks after a few months of use.
• Decisions:
  • A father who named his kid Hitler is tired of being ‘treated like garbage‘
  • A man in Italy was going bald, so he decided to get bangs tattooed on his forehead. After seeing the horrible tattoo, he started crying.

The Cautionary Tale Behind The Phrase “Leopards Ate My Face”

The expression “Leopards ate my face” serves as a cautionary tale to all of us. It emphasizes the importance of being mindful of our desires and the potential outcomes of our decisions. We must think before we act, as every choice we make has the power to shape our future. This phrase calls upon us to consider the consequences of our actions, and to exercise caution before venturing into uncharted territory. In other words, we should never underestimate the power of our decisions and the impact they can have on our lives.

In other words, be careful what you wish for. Your wish might come true.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the popular LAMF Reddit community. It’s a lot of fun to follow.