"Nobody wants to buy a beer from Lizzo" says Gaetz
On May 17, responses began to emerge to comments made by Florida Republican Matt Gaetz while appearing on Newsmax as part of a panel discussion show - 'The Right Squad'.
The assembled guests were discussing the recently released beer commercial from Miller Lite - which centers on a critique of beer adverts in decades gone by, many of which featured bikini-clad women and were described as outdated and sexist by the narrator of the advert.
Bikinis and body-shaming
Gaetz, clearly triggered by the content of the advert decided to go on a rant about the actions of the Miller brewery and their marketing department.
He drew comparisons with the recent experiences of Anheuser Busch who made transgender influencer - Dylan Mulvaney - a brand ambassador and subsequently suffered a huge loss of business as a result:
"We watched Anheuser Busch, like, torch their valuation. Now Miller Lite is saying, quite literally, 'hold my beer' as we go down that same path."
Gaetz continued, with his rant becoming a little more personal:
"I don't think it's crazy to say that good-looking women in bikinis, sell beer. Nobody wants to buy a beer from Lizzo."
Co-host of the show - Jason Nichols - immediately retorted with "I think Lizzo is attractive" but Gaetz had already made his point, and defended his position as the light-hearted exchange continued.
What the Florida Congressman probably hadn't counted on was the backlash that has since been witnessed on Twitter.
"Everyone hates you"
One of the more vocal critics of Gaetz online, was former NBC Executive - Mike Sington - who took issue with the Florida man's comments, posting "I have a few words for Matt Gaetz: Everyone hates you, so there’s that.":
Other comments were less barbed, with another Twitter user posting that:
"If I ever started drinking again, I’d buy whatever beer Lizzo told me to buy."
A further commenter put it more simply:
"What a horrible statement for a horrible, strange man."
Lizzo herself has yet to respond to the comments from Gaetz.
Gaetz and body-shaming
Sadly this isn't the first time that Gaetz has been unable to hold-his-tongue when it comes to body-shaming others.
In 2022 after the supreme court had overturned Roe Vs. Wade - effectively denying women of their rights to choose to abort a pregnancy - Gaetz spoke at a conservative conference about whether women who protest against the ruling should even be concerned about getting pregnant.
Gaetz made reference to a number of the protestors, including Olivia Julianna from Houston:
"Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb."
Rather than merely taking offense at the comments, Julianna decided to retaliate and used the comments made by Gaetz as a means of raising donations to her cause. To date, she has raised over $2 million for her Gen-Z for Change, thanks largely to the publicity afforded to her by Gaetz.
If Lizzo benefits similarly then it may well be that Gaetz reconsiders body-shaming others in future!
Do you think that Matt Gaetz should be more careful about what he says given his role? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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