Florida Evans Trends On Twitter: Big Boi Meme On 1970s Moms Vs. 2016 Twerking Moms Goes Viral

The name Florida Evans got plenty of attention on Twitter, all because of a meme that Big Boi tweeted on May 29. Big Boi rose to fame as part of the Outkast group, and Florida is the name of Esther Rolle’s character from Good Times.

Warning: The NSFW meme shows a half-naked woman on the right-hand side of the photo, and might be offensive to some viewers. On the left side of the meme is a photo of Florida from Good Times, as the mom stands in the kitchen talking to her TV daughter, Thelma Evans. On the right side of the photo is a woman wearing a thong who looks like she’s in the shower preparing to twerk, with a child watching her antics.

The caption compares mothers in the 1970s to mothers in 2016, with the tagline that reads, “… and we act like we don’t know what’s wrong with these kids.” While some folks agreed with the meme as a spot-on portrayal of “wholesome” mothers from the 1970s in comparison to wild moms from modern times, others clapped back at Big Boi with backlash.

Some criticized Big Boi by commenting that the woman featured on the right side of the meme is just the type of woman that he would feature in his music videos, not a woman like Evans. That’s when Big Boi tweeted his response, as seen below. He wrote that while he didn’t mind women acting like the woman is acting in the right side of the photo, perhaps they shouldn’t do so in front of their children.

I don't mind u bussin it open , but not in front of the baby ,but I guess y'all don't see the baby in the Meme. ( That I did not Create )

— Big Boi (@BigBoi) May 30, 2016

Big Boi also noted that while he tweeted the meme, he did not create the meme. His tweet received more than 1,000 likes and more than 1,000 retweets.

Esther can be seen in the top photo above, when Rolle was pictured in the image from April 26, 1987. Rolle died when she was 78 years of age, on Wednesday, November 18, 1998. Rolle was best known for her role as the strong matriarch of the family on Good Times. The sitcom was set in the projects of Chicago, and the main message of the sitcom was that a family could stick together like glue with love, even if that family didn’t always have much money to make ends meet.

Florida’s TV husband was James Evans, a man who pulled no punches when it came to ruling his family with an iron fist.

Forget Florida Evans we need dudes to step up like James Evans What's wrong went these dudes too @BigBoi pic.twitter.com/LNLjJQ5PP9

— E.L Smith (@elsmithcomedy) May 30, 2016

As such, folks took to Twitter to respond that it isn’t only the fault of mothers for acting the way they are acting nowadays. Instead of missing the wholesome Florida type of mothers from the 1970s, some Twitter users noted that certain people miss the James type of fathers — those who work hard and do what they can to remain married to the mothers and provide a roof over the heads of their family members.

Some folks tweeting about the situation admit they have no idea why Florida’s name is trending, so they are including funny GIFs from the TV show on their timelines.

Selected comments flowing into Twitter can be seen below.

“Did I just see a think piece about Florida Evans?!?! If y’all don’t take that mess to Facebook…”

“True. Florida Evans was real as they come.”

“Not sure what ‘Florida Evans’ is trending but #GoodTimes is a classic!”

“Except…I mean…Florida Evans was the exact opposite of real. She was a fictional tv char…nvm.”

“Y’all want a Florida Evans but can’t even be a James Evans. Stop policing women and start focusing on yourselves.”

“Speaking of Florida Evans! God bless, Esther Rolle! Did y’all ever call her psychic hotline?”

[Photo by AP Photos/Mark Avery]