Lawyer calls judge ‘honey’ by mistake during courtroom argument in Colorado, netizens react: ‘Secondhand embarrassment’

Footage of the hearing shows Judge Terry Fox, seated nearby, struggling to suppress laughter before quickly regaining her composure. The awkward exchange has been widely shared across social media. Sharing the video, an X user Collin Rugg wrote, “Lawyer is speechless after he accidentally calls a Colorado judge “honey” while arguing whether or not a violent s*xual assault counts as one act or can be broken into multiple acts. So awkward. Judge Terry Fox was seen holding back laughter during the incident.”

Watch here:

NEW: Lawyer is speechless after he accidentally calls a Colorado judge “honey” while arguing whether or not a violent s*xual assault counts as one act or can be broken into multiple acts.

So awkward.

Judge Terry Fox was seen holding back laughter during the incident.

Lawyer:… pic.twitter.com/6FJQyIiPds

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 21, 2025

The video quickly gained traction, garnering over three million views and numerous reactions. Many users backed the attorney, considering it was an “honest” mistake. “Also Honey sounds phonetically like Honor. He calls her honor later in the video. So probably a slip, because of similar sounding words and he felt like he was talking to his wife or daughter,” a user wrote. “You could tell it was a slip up. Even the judge didn’t press it hard because she knew it was a mistake. Let’s all pump the brakes,” another user commented.

“I know exactly how this guy feels. When trying to argue a point with a woman, it just comes out sometimes. Sometimes it’s the wrong time. Secondhand embarrassment,” a third user reacted.