AboutWhat does the meme depict?

The "Rent Is Too Damn High" meme features an image based on Jimmy McMillan, a political figure from New York City, known for his prolific slogan during the November 2010 gubernatorial election in New York. The image often showcases McMillan in his distinct debate attire, usually captured raising his fist in a powerful gesture. This image serves as the foundation for an Advice Animal-style image macro series used widely across the internet. The snowclone template derived from this meme, "The X is too damn high," allows users to substitute 'X' with whatever they find exorbitantly high or excessive, applying McMillan's signature expression to a variety of contexts.

OriginWho did it first?

Jimmy McMillan coined the phrase "The Rent Is Too Damn High" while representing the party of the same name during the New York Gubernatorial debate on October 18th, 2010. His repetitive use of the slogan throughout the debate caught significant attention. The debating footage was shared by The Daily Beast on YouTube, quickly becoming a viral sensation. This moment captured in a screengrab, featuring McMillan's emphatic fist raise, inspired the creation of an Advice Animal image macro that saw widespread adoption on platforms like Quickmeme. The initial meme started circulating more broadly after its inclusion in a Reddit post on the r/gaming subreddit on August 6th, 2011, illustrating user frustration with the caption "The mouse sensitivity / is too damn high!"^[1]

Origin: 2010