KYLE ZEEMAN
Forget the battle to find the mute button and shouting “can you hear me?”, one US lawyer’s Zoom nightmare came in the form of a filter.
Texas lawyer Rod Ponton looked anything but professional during a recent serious court debate held online ,when he accidentally left a kitten filter on during a video conference call with a judge and was unable to change it.
In a video of the incident shared online, judge Roy Ferguson can be heard telling Ponton: “I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings. You might want to…”
Panicking, Ponton asked: “Can you hear me, judge? I don’t know how to remove it. I’ve got my assistant here. She’s trying to but I’m prepared to go forward with it. I’m here live. I’m not a cat.”
The judge’s response?
“I can see that.”
“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 judge later took to social media to share tips about virtual meetings.
“If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom video options to be sure filters are off.”
“These fun moments are a by-product of the legal profession’s dedication to ensuring the justice system continues to function in these tough times. Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace. True professionalism all around.”
Meanwhile, the streets were a mess in reaction to the moemish:
I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard ?. That cat like ‘Oh F’… pic.twitter.com/3yUENbiy3f
— Desirée (@DesireeMoffitt) February 9, 2021
Frantically searching for a cat filter…. any tips? Bonus: my kid now wants to be an attorney. A cat attorney.
— Kim Coronado (@libartdesign) February 10, 2021
I know. When he said, “I am here live. I am not a cat. “ I would have had to mute my sound and gone off video.
— Hannah C (@hcp56) February 9, 2021