As a French insult, pitoyable has long been used online by French-speaking creators to call out something weak, sad or unimpressive, and short clips of the word have travelled well beyond French-language videos because the tone is easy to recognise. It fits the fast pace of reaction edits, where a single word can summarise an entire failed moment without a lengthy explanation. Its appeal is its brevity and attitude: it sounds judgemental, funny and final, which is why editors keep returning to it for roasts, fails and sarcastic commentary.