Houston Gen Z activist Olivia Julianna raises $1 million for abortion rights off Matt Gaetz insult

A teen Democratic activist from Houston has capitalized on a Twitter insult from Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz by directing supporters to give to an abortion rights fundraiser that's raked in more than $1.5 million this week. “Although your intentions were hateful, your public shaming of my appearance has done nothing but benefit me,” tweeted Olivia Julianna, 19, political strategy specialist and founding member of the nonprofit Gen Z For Change. “Your hateful comments toward me will quite literally help pay for abortion services. Lol. Get rekt.” Olivia, who goes by her first and middle names on social media due to safety concerns, was among a handful of abortion rights activists who sabotaged a website encouraging people to anonymously report violations of the state’s six-week abortion ban as it went into effect in September 2021. IN-DEPTH: Meet the Texas teen who helped sabotage an anti-abortion tip line The spat between the two began after Gaetz took aim at abortion rights activists at a rally last weekend in Tampa, fat-shaming them and saying their looks made them less likely to get pregnant. “Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb,” he said. Gaetz continued: “These people are odious on the inside and out. They're like 5'2, 350 pounds, and they're like, 'Give me my abortions or I'll get up and march and protest,' and I'm thinking, 'March? You look like you got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe vs. Wade.' A few of them need to get up and march. They need to get up and march for like an hour a day, swing those arms, get the blood pumping, maybe mix in a salad.” Olivia quipped back that she is “5’11. 6’4 in heels” and “I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place,” adding a reference to the ongoing Justice Department investigation into allegations of his involvement in sex trafficking and prostitution. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing; a spokesperson for him called the accusations “blatantly false" and said they "were rooted in a criminal shakedown of Congressman Gaetz’s family, to which one person has already plead guilty.” Gaetz then reweeted a story with a headline about how his comments from the rally had angered abortion rights activists and pasted Olivia’s profile picture into it with the words “Dander raised ... ” The viral tweet sparked loads of hate and harassment sent Olivia’s way, but the teen says the vitriol doesn’t faze her. “When you have to resort to bodyshaming or physical insults, it’s because you can’t back up your arguments with logic and intellectual facts,” she said. “Honestly, I love getting hate comments. Because when I get hate comments, it means that I’ve won the argument and you know that I’m right.” Olivia said as a political strategist and social media influencer, she knew she had to take advantage of this moment in the spotlight by turning it into a fundraiser, “something I could do to tangibly help people in the community I care about.” A spokesperson for Gaetz responded to the fundraiser by saying that “with Roe v. Wade overturned, America is now a pro-life nation. No amount of solicitations will change that.” The spokesperson added: “Congressman Gaetz never mentioned the adult’s weight. Leftist media did.” The fundraiser that Olivia referred people to was organized by Gen Z for Change, a progressive youth-led group with more than 500 members, who use social media and other internet platforms to “educate our generation and make tangible change on issues that disproportionately affect young people.” The group had raised about $26,000 prior to the blowup with Gaetz. By late morning Wednesday, it’s amassed more than eight times that. “I think a lot of people assume because I’m young that I’m very naive or ignorant of how politics work,” she said. “But I’m a political strategist for one of largest youth nonprofits in the country, so Matt Gaetz shining a spotlight on me like that was actually a gift because he gave me an even bigger platform to talk about me and the work that I do.” taylor.goldenstein@chron.com

Houston Gen Z activist Olivia Julianna raises $1 million for abortion rights off Matt Gaetz insult

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