A teenager who says she raps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. Body shamed by her, she has raised more than $1.5 million for abortion funds in just three days.
“A sitting Republican congressman, @mattgaetz, decided it was okay to body-sham a teenager,” Olivia Juliana, a 19-year-old activist and political strategist for the progressive non-profit Gen Z for Change, tweeted. wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “So despite that I raised $1 million in donations for an abortion fund in less than 72 hours. Abortion is healthcare. Period.”
At a Turning Point USA conference on Saturday, Gaetz told a crowd of young people that women who support abortion rights are “less likely to get pregnant” because of their appearance.
“They’re like 5’2, 350 pounds and they’re like ‘Give me my abortion or I’m going to get up and march and protest,’ and I’m thinking: ‘March? You feel weaker than your ankles. The legal reasoning behind Roe v. Wade,” Getz said.
Getz’s comments:Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to Abortion Rights Opponents: ‘Nobody Wants to Impregnate You’
In response to his comments, Juliana tweeted on Sunday that she’s “actually 5’11. 6’4 in heels. I wear them so little men like you remember your place.” Later that day, Getz Tweeted a screenshot of Juliana’s profile picture Her 1.4 million followers, suggesting she was one of the abortion rights activists angered by her comments.
The interaction inspired Juliana and Gen Z for Change to start a fundraiser, for which all donations will be “split equally” among 50 local abortion funds nationwide. According to the fundraising page.
Juliana Tin Vaughan said in an interview That Gaetz tweet led to hateful comments about her body over email, with the subject line “MATT.” But a Texas-based activist is making the most of it.
“I knew I could make the best of the situation because that’s what I do. That’s my job,” she told Teen Vogue. “People hate me because I’m 19 and I think I’m a doe-eyed kid but I’m a political strategist for one of the biggest youth organizations in the country. It was almost like a gift from Matt Getz.”
Her efforts have been praised by elected officials and activists, including a former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton And Actress Busy Phillips.
Gaetz’s spokesman, Joel Valdez, told USA Today that with Roe’s passing, America is a “pro-life nation” and “no amount of pleading is going to change that.” He added that Gaetz did not mention Juliana’s weight in his post, saying “the leftist media did.”