The excuseME emote is used to express disbelief, surprise, or indignation at something that was just said or happened in chat or on stream. It conveys a sense of "wait, what did you just say?" or "hold on a second" in response to something shocking, questionable, or offensive. The emote is often used sarcastically or humorously to call out absurd statements or unexpected moments.
Origin
The emote originates from a screenshot of Jerma985 (Jeremy Harrington), a popular variety streamer and former YouTuber known for his comedic content. The image captures Jerma with a distinctive expression of confusion and slight offense, with raised eyebrows and an incredulous look. This particular frame became popular in Jerma's community and spread across Twitch as a reaction emote. The emote gained traction around the mid-2010s as Jerma's streaming career grew, and it became widely adopted on platforms like BetterTTV (BTTV) and FrankerFaceZ (FFZ) for use across multiple channels.
When to use
The emote is commonly used when: someone says something controversial or questionable in chat; a streamer makes an unexpected or wild statement; chat wants to express mock offense or playful indignation; responding to hot takes or bad opinions; reacting to surprising gameplay moments or fails; calling out sus (suspicious) behavior; expressing "I beg your pardon?" energy in a humorous way
