Hungry for a public disgrace of a gross political figure with a dash of someone thoroughly owning a bully? (Duh, of course, you are.) Let us call forth Olivia Julianna, the 19-year-old Gen-Z for Change political strategist, who, after being publicly shamed by Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz on Twitter has raised $1 million for abortion funds in 72 hours.
Julianna’s fundraising campaign began following Gaetz’s speech during a Jul. 23 Student Action Summit in Florida.
“Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions?” he said. “Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb,” he told the crowd of young conservatives, without even a touch of self-awareness. “I’m thinking, March? You look like you’ve got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe v. Wade.”
When Julianna saw his comments, the activist fired back. “It’s come to my attention that Matt Gaetz — alleged pedophile— has said that it’s always the ‘odious.. 5’2 350 pound’ women that ‘nobody wants to impregnate’ who rally for abortion.”
She continued: “I’m actually 5’11. 6’4 in heels. I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place
Following Gaetz’s fat-phobic comments, Julianna kicked off a campaign to raise money for abortion rights, urging her followers to contribute. Within 24 hours, she raised $50K, quipping in a tweet: “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.”
In the tongue-in-cheek card, Julianna notes with sarcastic perfection: “Dear Matt, Although your intentions were hateful, your public shaming of my appearance has done nothing but benefit me … Your hateful comments towards me will quite literally pay for abortion services. Lol. Get rekt.”
By Thursday evening the funds reached $1 million, a triumph Julianna met with an announcement on Twitter.
“A sitting Republican congressmen, @mattgaetz, decided that body shaming a teenager was okay,” Julianna tweeted. “So to spite him I raised $1 million in donations to abortion funds in under 72 hours. Abortion is healthcare. Period. #ThanksMattGaetz.”
And it’s not just donations Julianna has gained. On Jul. 25, she tweeted she has also seen a significant increase in followers — 20K across all platforms to be exact.
“Let this serve as a lesson to all the Republican politicians out there—if it’s a battle of wit against me, you’re going to lose.”
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Julianna said she saw Gaetz’s initial comments as an opportunity, a move that is inspiring to say the least.
“Matt had put a spotlight on me; he had given me a chance to rebut publicly and I think what he was expecting was for me to fall into an outrage cycle and he wanted me to be like, ‘This is horrendous, you’re evil, you should be canceled,’” she said in the interview. “He wants people to label him as a monster and free-speech absolutist and I don’t think he expected for me to respond in the way that I did — to fundraise for abortions. And he also didn’t expect me to bring up his criminal investigation. What a weirdo to talk about another teenager.”
Gaetz is currently under investigation for allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him. The congressman has denied the allegations, and has not been charged.
Gaetz has not addressed anything since his initial tweet which seems like the obvious choice for a bully met head-on by someone with such undeniable fire like Olivia Julianna.
Before you go, read up on some of these brave celebs who have shared their abortions stories:
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