Florida Man is anInternet meme first popularized in 2013,[1] referring to an alleged prevalence of people performing irrational, ridiculous, and maniacal actions in the U.S. state ofFlorida. Internet users typically submit links to news stories and articles about unusual or strange crimes, actions and other events occurring in Florida, with stories' headlines often beginning with "Florida Man ..." followed by the main event of the story.[2] Because ofthe way news headlines are typically written, they can be creatively interpreted as implying that the subjects of the articles are all a single individual known as "Florida Man".
TheMiami New Times claimed thatfreedom of information laws in Florida make it easier for journalists to acquire information about arrests from the police than in other states and that this is responsible for a large number of news articles.[3] ACNN article on the meme also suggested that the breadth of reports of bizarre activities is due to a confluence of factors, includingpublic records laws giving journalists fast and easy access topolice reports, the relatively high population of the state, its highly variable weather, and gaps inmental health funding.[4]
The meme originated in February 2013 with the now abandoned[5]Twitter account @_FloridaMan, which quoted notably strange or bizarre news headlines containing the words "Florida man", such as "Florida man run over by van after dog pushes accelerator" or "Police arrest Florida man for drunken joy ride on motorized scooter atWalmart".[2] The account referred to "Florida Man" as the "World's Worst Superhero".[1][2][6]
In an interview with WUSF, author Craig Pittman attributed the origin of the ‘Florida Man’ stereotype to the writings of a man named Frederic Remington, predating the Internet. Upon visiting the state in 1895, Pittman states that Remington “wrote about encountering low-browed cow folk who would kill each other over cattle that he said weren't even fit for a pointer dog to mess on, which sort of started the stereotype rolling.” In the same interview, Pittman theorizes that the recount in Florida during the 2000 election brought increased attention to the state that aided the rise of the meme.[7]
Before the creation of the meme, the state of Florida had already garnered a colorful reputation on theInternet, with the social aggregation siteFark hosting a "Florida" content tag in the years before the Twitter account @_FloridaMan appeared.[1]
Also before the meme's creation, the novels of author Tim Dorsey were notable for their frequent depictions of outlandish and violent criminal activity in Florida.[8] Florida-native and author Carl Hiaasen’s novels also have a reputation for their depictions of eccentric Florida residents and their activities.[9]
After the creation of the account in January 2013, and its ensuing popularization on social media sites such asReddit andTumblr, initially through thesubreddit "r/FloridaMan" and the Tumblr blog "StuckInABucket", the meme was featured in numerous news articles and stories throughout February 2013.[10][11]
Filmmaker Sean Dunne released the documentary “Florida Man” in 2015, containing interviews with Floridians discussing aspects of their views and personal lives.[12]
'Florida Man' was also referred to in the opening episode of Season 2 of theFX showAtlanta as a sinister entity, referred to by Darius as an "alt-rightJohnny Appleseed" who commits a variety of strange crimes in Florida as part of a plot to prevent Black people from voting, portrayed by Kevin Waterman.[13]
The Florida man meme inspired the creation of a poetry book by Floridian Tyler Gillespie, published in 2018. The book attempts to counteract negative stereotypes about the state by highlighting other aspects of Florida’s culture and history.[14]
On November 1, 2018,Desi Lydic ofThe Daily Show filed a report comedically investigating the phenomenon of "Florida Man".[15]
In 2018,IO Interactive released the stealth action video gameHitman 2. In the game's second level, set in Miami, Florida, the players can disguise themselves as "Florida Man", an owner of a local food stand. The player can use this disguise to poison and eliminate their target.[16] The character of Florida Man also makes an appearance in a level set inBerlin, Germany inHitman 3, where the player can again take his disguise.[17]
A play titled "Florida Man" by Michael Presley Bobbitt premiered July 31, 2019, at New York's Theatre Row Studios.[18]
On October 31, 2019,Donald Trump, then president of the United States, changed his legal residence from New York City toPalm Beach, Florida, the location of theMar-a-Lago resort he owns and frequently visits.[19][20] Sources joked about Trump becoming "Florida Man",[21][22] includingThe Daily Show, which released anextension forGoogle Chrome andFirefox that changed all instances of Trump's name to "Florida Man".[23] On October 24, 2020, during his rally for presidential candidateJoe Biden in Florida, former PresidentBarack Obama mocked Trump, saying,"'Florida Man' wouldn't even do this stuff", referring to Trump's handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic and his handling of domestic and foreign affairs.[24]
American rock bandBlue Öyster Cult referred to the phenomenon in the song "Florida Man" on their 2020 albumThe Symbol Remains.[25]
The maintainer of the Twitter account @_FloridaMan stated in 2019 that he had "retired" from creating tweets at that account.[26]
Republican U.S. Representative from Florida,Matt Gaetz has embraced the moniker "Florida Man" for himself, including in hisTwitter bio, and with his "Florida Man Freedom Tour" in 2021.[27][28][29][30]
On November 16, 2022, theNew York Post reportedTrump's 2024 presidential campaign announcement on the front page as "Florida Man Makes Announcement",[31] proceeding to mock the former president on page 26 referring to Mar-a-Lago as containing his "classified-documents library".
In March 2023Netflix announced astreaming televisionlimited series titledFlorida Man from showrunner (and Florida native) Donald Todd, starringEdgar Ramírez as a disgraced ex-policeman who is forced to return to his native Florida in search of a mobster's missing girlfriend.[32]
An unfriendly profile of Republican Florida governorRon DeSantis published on the website of the left-wing U.S. political magazineCurrent Affairs on May 26, 2023, is entitled "Florida Man."[33]
AFlorida Man Games event took place in 2024 inSt. Augustine, Florida.[34]
Episode 4 of the second season of Peacock series Poker Face takes place in Florida, with numerous references to Florida stereotypes popularized by the ‘Florida Man’ meme. Character Chief Hal (played by John Sayles) also directly references the meme, referring to another character as “The opposite of Florida Man memes.”[35]
Becoming popular in 2019 and periodically resurfacing on social media sites likeReddit is a variation of the meme,[36] dubbed the "Florida Man Birthday Challenge," in which people search the date of their birthday followed by "Florida Man" on asearch engine with the goal to find bizarrenews reports involving a "Florida Man" on that date.[37][36]
The meme has widely been seen as a confirmation of the association between the state of Florida and bizarre or humorous activity, and has been compared to theDarwin Awards.[38] The meme was criticized byColumbia Journalism Review, which called it "one of journalism's darkest and most lucrative cottage industries," where "stories tend to stand as exemplars of the mythical hyper-weirdness of the Sunshine State, but more often simply document the travails of the drug-addicted, mentally ill, and homeless."[39]
