When
Netflix
‘s “The Tinder Swindler” was released on February 2, 2022, it was an instant hit.
The documentary told the story of three women who said a man named Simon Leviev scammed them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which Leviev has denied. It quickly became Netflix’s most popular movie of the month, according to the streaming service, which says it has been watched for 110 million hours so far.
The show sparked a wave of social media discussion, but the online conversation quickly devolved into a series of memes, with people across platforms using the story to make jokes and mock Leviev and his accusers.
On TikTok, the tag #tinderswindler has 125 million views, and a trend has emerged of people shaking their heads to a cover of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley with a caption that reads, “When my billionaire BF asked me to take out a loan so he could fight his enemies and I did.”
On Twitter, the phrases that the women in the documentary say Leviev used to convince them he needed money — such as “my enemies are after me” — have been joked about and used as a popular caption alongside a photo of Leviev on a plane.
https://twitter.com/BeshayDavid/status/1491932561798725638/photo/1″ data-analytics-module=”body_link
TikToker Giuliana Ava, who received 700,000 views on a video using the “Crazy” trend, told Insider that she thinks fraudsters make for the perfect meme because they allow people to make light of something serious.
In the instance of Leviev, she said, “You can’t help but laugh at his desperation to live a lifestyle he can’t afford whilst hating him for ruining innocent people’s lives.”
Many “Tinder Swindler” memes, including videos from the “Crazy” TikTok trend, seem to mock the three women in the documentary.
Beth Walkemayer, who joined the trend by posting a video that has 8 million views, told Insider she made the TikTok to spark discussion about the documentary, but was “surprised” to see people reacting to it with humor rather than by “addressing how serious the situation is.” Walkemayer said she was “sad” to see people judging the women for becoming involved with Leviev.
Many comments on Walkemayer’s post and similar videos are from women who claim that they would never have become victims of fraud.
“I would have told him he’s in my thoughts and prayers,” one top comment with 22,000 likes said. Another said, “I won’t even loan people $100, let alone 100K.”
These responses to the documentary can showcase a “sadism” at seeing the con happen, paired with “an even stronger desire to see justice,” Cohen said.
Cohen also suggested that memes that are critical of the women come from people who “believe they’d never be swindled.” These individuals joke about the misfortune of the three women and say it could never happen to them as a way to feel more secure even though “deep down, they might know it could just as well be them,” Cohen said.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider’s Digital Culture team here.
