The Downvoting Roman meme features Joaquin Phoenix as Emperor Commodus in the 2000 film Gladiator. The template is taken from the scene where he signals the fate of a defeated gladiator with a decisive thumbs-down gesture. It became a staple on Reddit in the early 2010s, used by users to mockingly 'sentence' bad posts or unoriginal content to a downvote. The meme's longevity stems from Phoenix's expressive disdain, making it the perfect visual shorthand for internet disapproval and the harsh reality of forum voting systems.