Pro-Choice Protest Kick Meme Template
About this meme
The "Guitar Hero" Roundhouse Kick / Pro-Choice Protest Kick
This template features a viral video from a 2018 street protest in Toronto, Canada, involving pro-life activists and counter-protestors. In the clip, a man with glasses and a purple hoodie is engaged in a heated debate with a woman filming him. In a sudden, explosive escalation, he delivers a mid-air roundhouse kick aimed straight at the camera/phone, knocking it out of her hand.
While the original real-world context involves a tense political demonstration, internet culture quickly stripped the clip of its heavy socio-political weight and turned it into a massive aesthetic meme format. Creators frequently sync the exact moment his foot impacts the camera with upbeat, high-tempo rhythm game music—most notably the fast-paced note tracking from Guitar Hero or Osu!—making it a legendary reaction format for sudden, unexpected aggression and rhythmic chaos. Because the person filming is arguing aggressively off-camera, many online spaces also colloquially refer to or use the format as a "man kicking a Karen" template.
Sudden escalation, unexpected athleticism, rhythm game timing, chaotic confrontation, and immediate cut-to-black impact.
- The Argument: The video starts with a man wearing glasses, a necklace, and a purple zippered hoodie speaking aggressively toward someone off-camera during a street protest.
- The Wind-up: As the speaker off-camera mentions a heavy topic, the man turns his shoulder, shifting his weight to prep for a sudden physical movement.
- The Strike: With surprising speed, he spins around and throws a high roundhouse kick directly at the recording device. The camera jolts violently upon impact, completely blurring the image before cutting out.
The video clip takes place on a busy city street corner next to an active intersection filled with cars. A man with brown hair, glasses, a dark necklace, and a light purple hoodie is shown arguing with an unseen individual holding a camera. After a brief exchange, the man abruptly stops talking, pivots his body, and launches a fast, high-altitude roundhouse kick directly into the lens. The recording instantly turns into a chaotic blur of motion as the device is struck out of the videographer's hands, ending the footage abruptly.