VIA YOUTUBE 394TH DISTRICT COURT OF TEXAS VIDEO SCREENSHOT
Whenever someone gets instantly famous on social media it’s only a matter of time until they get canceled or “milkshake ducked” as they say on the Internet.
On Tuesday morning a video of a Texas lawyer who mistakenly turned on a cat filter during a Zoom court proceeding and was forced to continue with the call while appearing as a small kitten went viral on Twitter.
“I’m here live, I’m not a cat,” says lawyer after Zoom filter mishap
“I can see that,” responds judge pic.twitter.com/HclKlAUwbM
— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) February 9, 2021
The “Zoom Cat Lawyer” is West Texas lawyer Rod Ponton, who was at the center of controversy back in 2014. According to Business Insider journalist Anthony Fisher, Ponton was accused of abusing his power as a local prosecutor to harass a former lover by targeting her business after she stopped returning his phone calls.
Funny story about Rod Ponton, the "Zoom cat lawyer" that everyone's talking about today.
I reported on him in 2014, when he was a local prosecutor used the power of his office — and roped in federal law enforcement — to harass a former lover. https://t.co/fIuK4hbHfJ
— Anthony L. Fisher (@anthonyLfisher) February 10, 2021
I had read about a violent, militarized raid on a small Texas college town's head shop.
The shop's owner was forced to sign an incriminating statement before she could post bond. https://t.co/5s0pGydciu
— Anthony L. Fisher (@anthonyLfisher) February 10, 2021
I spent months reporting out this story as a written feature and a video doc — every stone overturned was creepier than the last.
I went down to Texas, where Ponton said he would give me an interview, before reneging. But it was a small town and everyone knew what happened.
— Anthony L. Fisher (@anthonyLfisher) February 10, 2021
TL;dr: Ponton was briefly sexually involved with the woman who ran the head shop. (He denies this.)
During his time as DA, local and federal cops repeatedly tried to bust her for selling illegal synthetic marijuana (they never found any).
— Anthony L. Fisher (@anthonyLfisher) February 10, 2021
It’s pretty incredible how “Zoom Cat Lawyer” has gone from universally beloved to canceled in record time but that’s how things go on the Internet.