In 2006, director Michael Mann released a reboot of the cop show Miami Vice starring Colin Farrell and Jaime Foxx. It wasn't received all that well, but it has some supporters who insist it's underrated, such as film critic Brandon Streussnig. On July 4th, he announced he showed his girlfriend a scene from the film, because she wanted to watch his "favorite movie." This lit a match that appears to have fundamentally set Film Twitter ablaze for a week.

gf asked me to show her my favorite movie tonight. Probably the most important step in the relationship. No goin back now

pic.twitter.com/UACGhpVXZX

— Brandon Streussnig (@BrndnStrssng) July 5, 2024

What Is Going On With Miami Vice On Twitter?

After Brandon Streussnig posted that he showed his girlfriend Miami Vice, Chaedria LaBouvier loudly took exception, tweeting "Straight men live on a completely different planet than the rest of us, WHOT is this."

Many found the comment rude and unnecessary, but it's not particularly different from the type of inane hot takes posted on Twitter every day. What launched this particular hot take was LaBouvier's days-long crusade taking on every challenger who said the tweet was rude and unnecessary.

For days, LaBouvier seemed ready to die on the hill that Miami Vice was bad and "straight" culture was stupid. She quote-tweeted dozens of people she was arguing with in the comments, devolving into anime villain speak at certain points, promising that she was collecting all of the commentary for a future project centered around online hate mobs.

In one particularly memorable exchange, posted in Day Three of Miami Vice-gate, she appeared to proudly dox one of her critics by posting his full name and LinkedIn page. She congratulated herself on her excellent detective skills, but the man and others pointed out that his name was literally in his Twitter handle.

Who Is Chaedria LaBouvier?

Prior to Miami Vice-Gate, LaBouvier was best known for a controversy in which she was selected as a guest curator for the Guggenheim Museum. She clashed with the museum's artistic director, Nancy Spector, and claimed Spector and the museum had racially discriminated against her. An independent investigation found no evidence to back up the claim, but Spector resigned from her position at the Guggenheim. The Atlantic covered the controversy in a piece that took an uncharitable view of LaBouvier, dubbing Spector "The Guggenheim's Scapegoat."

How Did The Internet React To The Miami Vice Drama?

The internet was stunned at just how long the drama seemed to go on, as it stretched into nearly a full week of arguing. Memes began to pop up around the drama, and some key tweets turned into copypastas.

Furthermore, the controversy drew arguably the most interest in 2006's Miami Vice since 2006. For example, Kotaku published a review from a first-time watcher on July 8th. New York City's IFC Center also announced screenings of the film, as did Los Angeles' Lumiere Cinema.

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For the full history of Miami Vice-Gate, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.