It’s not the first time that Crazy Frog has caused a stir on Twitter. In July of 2020, a photo was posted to the account showing what may be a lovely sight to some, but very triggering to others. The frog was shown hanging from a noose in a post that was deleted almost as soon as it was posted, alongside the caption “goodbye world.” An apology was quickly posted, but it’s fair to say that their reputation was already beyond repair.

Crazy Frog was first invented in 1997 by 17-year-old Swedish student Daniel Malmedahl, who recorded himself imitating the sound of a two-stroke engine. It wasn’t until Erik Wernquist discovered the sound in 2003 that the iconic image was created, at that time called “The Annoying Thing.” After gaining popularity through file sharing and peer-to-peer downloads, ringtone company Jamba discovered the character and bought the license, changing the name to “Crazy Frog” and relentlessly marketing it all around the world.

Since then, he has released three albums of “ring-ding” filled remixes and even earned the title of 25th most played Youtube video of all time, with Axel F sitting at just over 3 billion views. He’s also released video games, a documentary and even toured the world, including Australia in 2005. And in case you were wondering, yes, the live incarnation is somehow even more disturbing than the animated version.