This past Tuesday, April 20, a group of Black leaders in Georgia called on citizens to boycott The Home Depot, saying the company had not done enough to fight against the state's new, restrictive voting law.
Conservatives online, including pundit and former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro, were enraged by the "cancellation" of the massive company, which is based in Georgia and is one of the state's largest employers.
Shapiro was so eager to stop a potential boycott in its tracks, in fact, he traveled to a nearby Home Depot himself and did his part for the chain by buying a single plank of wood and carrying it out in a plastic bag.
He filmed himself doing so for posterity, though most people who saw the video found it absolutely hilarious.
how is this not satire? https://t.co/iUBmPoWl6J— Piper Ramsey-Sumner (@Piper Ramsey-Sumner) 1619064195.0
Shapiro originally posted the video to his Instagram story but it was quickly passed around the rest of the internet.
Twitter once again took up one of its favorite pastimes—making fun of Ben Shapiro.
@cbfplr https://t.co/34t6FelZxM— Shu (@Shu) 1619104516.0
@cbfplr I think I’ve seen this before https://t.co/bQBGhnnuKV— Okiro (@Okiro) 1619106608.0
@cbfplr https://t.co/E0rXPZMCI6— Irreducible Minimum (@Irreducible Minimum) 1619104328.0
Memes were rapidly created which showed off Shapiro with his single plank of wood.
@cbfplr https://t.co/nF2AALMmNX— Ryan Sawyer (@Ryan Sawyer) 1619107369.0
@cbfplr One wood please. Bag it for me. Thanks— LtDansLegs (@LtDansLegs) 1619064811.0
ben shapiro when he gets home after buying one (1) plank of wood at home depot: https://t.co/tCoqa9qQnY— Millennial Grandma | Black Lives STILL MATTER (@Millennial Grandma | Black Lives STILL MATTER) 1619124796.0
Bishop Jackson, the leading voice calling for a Home Depot boycott, commented during an interview:
"We don't believe this is simply a political matter. This is a matter that deals with securing the future of this democracy, and the greatest right in this democracy is the right to vote."
"@BenShapiro bought a plank of wood" is nationally trending news. https://t.co/1jShaS4ddj— Michael Knowles (@Michael Knowles) 1619122047.0
Jackson also said Home Depot "demonstrated an indifference, a lack of response to the call, not only from clergy, but a call from other groups to speak out in opposition to this legislation."
Just bc Ben Shapiro exists only to be dunked on doesn’t mean we should stop— Jess Dweck (@Jess Dweck) 1619127708.0
I can't believe I'm just now seeing video of Ben Shapiro bringing wood home for his wife for the first time ever in his marriage.— I Smoked Allen Weiselberg (@I Smoked Allen Weiselberg) 1619124580.0
It seems nearly everything Shapiro posts online comes back to haunt him.
In a classic case of self-own, @benshapiro admittedly knows nothing of WAP, but does have awkwardly shaped wood tha… https://t.co/olASpYtnSF— Jeffrey Lieber (@Jeffrey Lieber) 1619114462.0
Ben Shapiro got a 1'x5' because an actual 2'x4' would have made his hands look even smaller https://t.co/sFZInSOJdE— Violet Valentine (@Violet Valentine) 1619125024.0
The Home Depot has yet to issue a statement thanking Shapiro for his single plank of support but they're sure to issue one soon.