Marjorie Taylor Greene sold t-shirts mocking mpox in 2023, despite US deaths

Right-wing conservative Marjorie Taylor Greene sold t-shirts making fun of mpox – formerly known as monkeypox – in March 2023, despite the fact Americans had died from the disease. 

The Georgia Republican previously sold the unisex t-shirts, which come in black and white, for $34 on her official website. They have since been removed.

Current products on Greene’s website include bumper stickers, hats and mugs that read “Proud Christian Nationalist” and “Defund The FBI”, as well as t-shirts that say: “I am a woman, made in the image of God.”

The mpox t-shirts featured three monkey emojis, in a reference to the Japanese “three wise monkeys” maxim – an embodiment of the principle of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.

The first monkey emoji is covering its eyes, the second its ears and the third its mouth. Underneath, the shirt reads: “See no monkeypox, hear no monkeypox, speak no monkeypox.”

Greene has repeatedly mocked mpox, a viral infection similar to smallpox, which has particularly affected gay and bisexual men during previous outbreaks. 

As stated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the disease is passed through personal, direct contact with an mpox rash and scabs from a person with the virus, as well as through contact with their saliva, snot or mucus and areas around the anus, rectum or vagina. 

Data from the CDC shows that during the 2022-2023 mpox outbreak in the US, there were 32,063 cases of mpox – and 58 deaths. 

The US had both the highest number of cases and deaths for mpox anywhere in the world, while Georgia – the state Greene represents – actually had the fifth highest case count for mpox infections in America. 

In July 2022, Greene said the disease was something to “laugh at”, “mock” and “reject”. She also called it a “another scam”, in reference to Covid-19. 

As reported by LGBTQ Nation, in an interview with journalist Allison Royal, Greene said: “Of course, monkeypox is a threat to some people in our population. 

“But we know what causes it, and that’s pretty much, um … it’s basically a sexually transmitted disease. So it’s not a threat to most of the population.”

Two months later, in September, the Republican politician said in a Facebook video that “no one” cared about mpox and blasted Democrats for spending money tackling the virus.