The phrase is associated with Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, whose direct and unfiltered speaking style made many of his remarks easy to clip and share. Short excerpts like this one spread through Filipino meme pages, reaction videos and soundboard sites, where the phonetic spelling 'may gad' reflects how the English phrase sounds in his delivery. It remains popular because the reaction is instantly understood across languages, working as a quick shorthand for shock, disbelief or mock horror at something absurd.