'Hacks' star Megan Stalter is back with her hilarious 'Hi Gay' videos poking fun at corporate Pride campaigns
Who wants a "sassy cinnamon" candle from the Butter Shop?!

Hi gay!
If you watch the comedy series “Hacks” on HBO, you probably know Megan Stalter as Kayla, the scene stealing, wackadoodle agent assistant with more fashion sense than common sense. But Stalter was making people laugh long before her television debut.
GIF created by Ollivia Cooke on Tumblr 64.media.tumblr.com
The comedian is a well-known internet treasure for her hilarious “Hi Gay” video series, where she pokes fun at the sometimes tone-deaf attempts certain corporations make to appear more accepting or supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community … without practicing true allyship.
In June 2021, Stalter became a bona fide meme by playing a stiff-smiled employee of the (fake) Butter Shop "sashaying away with deals" for Pride Month for those that can “prove they’re queer.” The delightfully cringey video, which amassed 1.4 million views, is below:
Corporations this month: pic.twitter.com/s2zFizLuqe
— Meg Stalter (@megstalter) June 2, 2021
The Butter Shop is back again for Pride Month 2022 and so too are the southern saleswoman’s failed attempts at courting “the gays.”
"Hi Gay! Happy Pride Month! We're back at the Butter Shop, queens, and we go goo-goo, ga-ga for gay," Stalter poorly reads from a script offscreen. She also assures audiences that “we're more lesbian than ever. We love lesbian, you queer thang."
Corporations this month: pic.twitter.com/BLfCNqo7e5
— Meg Stalter (@megstalter) June 1, 2022
Ceremoniously holding butter like a Statue of Liberty knockoff is a brilliant touch, I must say.
Stalter announces that the Butter Shop has brand new flavors to “slay the house down.” Personally, I’d go for the "sassy cinnamon.” But "hickory hickey from a guy," and "eat me out, amber, cheddar” are also options.
She then spews out “Hunky dory more like honky whore-y mama werk shake your thang sissy twerk doctor girl yassify that hoe,” before donning some rainbow-colored sunglasses.
This is a perfect example of how brands suddenly use rainbow colors or imagery to advertise rather than advocate, otherwise known as rainbow-washing. One of the more damaging aspects of rainbow-washing is that it often misleads people into thinking that they are helping to empower a marginalized community, when in actuality they are only helping corporations profit.
The underlying motto, as Stalter puts it, is “we think that gay people are okay. At least for the next 30 days.”
Of course, there are plenty of companies that authentically participate in allyship. The Urban List recommends checking to see if a company’s support is both measurable (having outcomes) and year-round, as well as if it addresses community issues, speaks up to impact anti-LGBTQI+ policy and legislation, and offers paid opportunities to the company's queer employees. That’s a great place to start.
Stalter has stumbled on her own brand of advocacy through her funny videos. The actress—who has been open about expressing her own bisexual identity as a previously avid churchgoer from the Midwest—understands the importance of normalizing and celebrating queer joy.
In an interview with The Advocate, she shared, “I light up when I see a gay character or a queer character. We’re so starved for it. Even though [representation] is evolving, and there is a lot more now than when I was growing up, there are some nights when I’m googling gay movies, just dying to see something where I feel represented. ”
Stalter added, “One of my favorite things about ‘Hacks’ is that there are all these queer characters and it’s just who they are. It’s not so focused on them coming out. It’s important for us to have those stories of coming out, and sad stories or triumphant stories. But it’s so important to have that representation of just, ‘oh, yeah, that’s one thing about me, but it’s not everything about me.’”
“Hi Gay!”
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 18, 2022
The #Hacks breakout star Megan Stalter breaks down the hallmarks of what has fast become a comedic archetype: the @megstalter character. https://t.co/uPSua9pdfd
It doesn’t look like Stalter will be short of gay comedy anytime soon. The newly dubbed “Mariah Carey of Pride Month” is on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. It’s great viewing … whether you’re a “lipstick lesbian or a butch.”
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.