The line comes from Duckman, the 1990s animated sitcom about a foul-mouthed private detective who frequently breaks the fourth wall to address the audience directly. 'What the hell are you staring at?' became one of his signature outbursts, repeated whenever he felt judged or watched. Clips and soundboards kept the phrase circulating long after the show ended, and creators now reuse it as a compact, confrontational reaction. Its bluntness and cartoon delivery make it easy to drop into memes about staring, gossip, and unwanted attention.