Disgraced Republican Matt Gaetz body-shamed a teen abortion activist. It backfired
Matt Gaetz. (Getty)
A 19-year-old woman who was insulted by Republican Matt Gaetz for her stance on abortion has turned his hate into $214,000 of charity funding.
Olivia Julianna tweeted on Sunday (24 July), reporting that Matt Gaetz insulted her during a talk at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa.
Gaetz reportedly said it’s always the “odious… 5’2 350-pound” women that “nobody wants to impregnate” who rally for abortion.
“I’m actually 5’11. 6’4 in heels,” Julianna wrote in her tweet and a subsequent follow-up.
“I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place.”
She added: “The narrative Republican men are putting forward saying that ‘nobody’ wants to sleep with us is not only a lie – but I can confirm from PERSONAL experience that it’s the Republican men who grovel for attention the most. And they LOVE to go after the women on the left. Weirdos.”
Gaetz took the criticism about as well as he usually does, screenshotting Julianna’s Twitter profile picture with the caption “Dander raised…”
Dander raised… https://t.co/3KkGN3fMdB pic.twitter.com/DX7SVf884X
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) July 25, 2022
Julianna, now rightfully having enough of Gaetz’s body-shaming, took no prisoners in a quote tweet asking if she was “little too old for” for Gaetz.
This was a reference to allegations Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl, allegedly violating federal sex-trafficking laws by paying for her to travel over state lines to have sex.
Gaetz denies the allegations and has not been charged. A federal investigation is believed to be ongoing.
After sparring with Gaetz, Julianna announced she would be supporting a fundraising campaign for the Gen Z for Change Abortion Fund, which splits donations across abortion funds in all 50 states.
Last time I received hate we raised a few thousand dollars. Let’s see if we can do that again! https://t.co/Lr7ki5Hmwz— Olivia Julianna 🗳 (@0liviajulianna) July 26, 2022
“Let’s be clear: Abortion is healthcare,” the fundraiser reads. “Healthcare is a human right, and abortions have always and will always continue to happen – the Supreme Court taking away this right will only ensure that they will not always be done safely. This decision is hateful and an act of system violence.”
Linking to the fundraiser, Julianna wrote that the last time she received hate, she managed to “raise a few thousand dollars” and asked users to “see if we can do that again!”
In the space of approximately 24 hours, the fundraiser reached $50,000 and is still skyrocketing. At the time of publishing, Julianna has estimated the current total at over $214,000.
The activist lost no ounce of her wit as donations rolled in, posting a mock “thank you” card for Matt Gaetz, saying that he has “done nothing but benefit me.”
Well @mattgaetz, I have to hand it to you. I didn’t think you cared about us abortion rights activists, but your spotlight on me has helped raise $50K for abortion funds in the last 24 hours! So I made you a special thank you card ❤️
It almost feels like #MattGaetzIsProAbortion pic.twitter.com/sCxGVT4vzz— Olivia Julianna 🗳 (@0liviajulianna) July 26, 2022
“I have to hand it to you,” she said. “I didn’t think you cared about us abortion rights activists, but your spotlight on me has helped raise $50K for abortion funds in the last 24 hours!”
