Lawyer Mistakenly Turns On Kitten Filter During Zoom Hearing And Can't Turn It Off

There's nothing we love more than a good filter mishap, especially when it happens at the most inappropriate time possible. It's the sort of blunder that makes everyone else laugh, but also secretly thank their lucky stars that it didn't happen to them.

One Texas lawyer wasn't feeling so lucky when he recently appeared in a virtual court hearing as a small, fluffy kitten, and then couldn't figure out how the heck to turn that filter off again.

Rod Ponton was understandably baffled when his face appeared in the Zoom call as a furry feline.

Adding more hilarity to the situation was the fact that this particular filter is that of a sad kitten, complete with lowered ears and wide, sorrowful eyes.

"Mr. Ponton I believe you have a filter turned in the video settings," Judge Roy Ferguson of Texas’s 394th judicial district can be heard telling the lawyer in video footage of the hilarious mishap.

An audibly flustered Ponton asks if the judge can hear him before confirming that yes, he does indeed have a filter on.

“And I don’t know how to remove it," the lawyer continues. "I’ve got my assistant here, she’s trying to, but I’m prepared to go forward with it..."

"I’m here live," he clarifies for the virtual group. "I’m not a cat.”

It's a wonder anyone in that particular Zoom call was able to keep a straight face while Ponton spoke to them through the sad kitty filter.

A clip of the filter blunder was uploaded to YouTube where it has since gone viral, amassing over 4.3 million views as of this writing. In the comments, many users expressed their amusement at Ponton's feline state.

"Can't stop watching this," one person wrote. "Everything is extra. From his voice, to his worried glance, to 'I'm prepared to go forward' and 'I'm not a cat.' Everything is extra."

Ponton has since spoke out about the hilarious incident and addressed his newfound viral fame.

In an interview with The New York Times, he explained that he was using his secretary's computer, and admitted he was "mortified" by what had occurred. However, he's also able to see the humor in it.

“If I can make the country chuckle for a moment in these difficult times they’re going through, I’m happy to let them do that at my expense,” he told the publication.

h/t: The New York Times

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