The sound comes from The Filthy Frank Show, the YouTube series created by George Miller, later known as musician Joji, where Filthy Frank was an intentionally outrageous and chaotic character built around shock comedy and absurd sketches. Short clips of his reactions were lifted by fans and reused across YouTube, Reddit and TikTok as reaction sounds, especially when a creator wanted to show panic or helplessness in a single second. Its appeal has lasted because the voice is instantly recognisable to internet audiences and the cry works without any context.