What's The Story Behind Steven He's 'Emotional Damage' Meme?

If you've been on TikTok once in the past 18 months, you've heard it: a man in a thick Asian accent crying, "Emotional damage!" Because TikTok is a place where the original context for memes and soundbites is almost instantly lost as the meme gets assimilated into many other algorithmically-friendly trends, the story behind "emotional damage" can be difficult to track down even if the sound itself is ubiquitous. Here, we'll run through the history of "emotional damage" and show how it developed into one of TikTok's most popular memes.

What Is The Origin Of The 'Emotional Damage' Meme?

The man crying "Emotional Damage!" is YouTuber and comedian Steven He. It comes from one of his skits titled "When 'Asian' Is a Difficulty Mode," which imagines "Asian mode" as a difficulty setting in video games.

In the "game," He finds a "boss" which is actually an Asian "aunty." The aunty questions when the "protagonist" of the game has gotten so fat, causing the protagonist to die of "emotional damage." Incredulous, He cries "Emotional damage?!?!" and set in motion the development of him becoming a meme.

The Rise To Memedom

Three months after He's skit hit YouTube, it was first used in a TikTok mocking Billie Eilish by @liamkearney263.

@liamkearney263 #violation #viral #emotionaldamage #fy #fyp ♬ original sound – ljk

That laid the groundwork for the sound's initial use as a meme. In the opening week of its memedom, the sound was widely used as a way to mock people who were owned online, particularly by a devastating comeback.

It didn't take long, however, for an offshoot meme to perhaps overshadow the original. On December 28th, 2021, musician @williamlinmusic set He crying "Emotional Damage" to the tune of "Pompeii" by Bastille.

@williamlimusic Emotional Pompeii 😭 @steven_he @bastille #emotionaldamage #mashup #remix #fyp ♬ Emotional Damage vs Pompeii – William Li

The song was used in much less malicious TikToks, as people more often used it in a self-deprecating way to poke fun at their own "emotional damage."

@apollothelilaussie The struggle is real #emotionaldamage #dogsofttiktok #dayinmylife #traumatized #aussie #australianshepherd #weather ♬ Emotional Damage vs Pompeii – William Li

@hobinyow -100 health #fitness ♬ Emotional Damage vs Pompeii – William Li

The sound, and particularly its "song" version, remain popular on TikTok to this day, which is no small feat for a meme over a year old.

For his part, Stephen He has run with the success of the "emotional damage" meme, crafting a sketch capitalizing on its popularity roughly a year ago.

---

For more information, check out the Know Your Meme entry on "emotional damage".