Twitter users criticized a conservative anti-vaxxer on the site after she posted a questionable video of her shaky legs, which she attributed to the Pfizer vaccine despite clearly pretending to show side-effects.
Twitter user Angelia Desselle shared footage of herself uncontrollably shaking in a response to billionaire and Twitter owner Elon Musk, who suggested he hoped he received “no permanent damage” from his second COVID-19 booster shot.
Desselle claimed she was once "a very healthy 45 year old who managed a surgery center" but she is "still having major issues" since receiving one dose of the Pfizer vaccine in January 2021.
She accompanied her comment with a video of herself "struggling" to walk through a room because of heavy leg spasms.
\u201c@elonmusk @ScottAdamsSays This is me after 1 dose of Pfizer on 1/5/2021 in the hospital. I was a very healthy 45 year old who managed a surgery center. Two years later I am still having major issues\u201d— Scott Adams (@Scott Adams) 1674224054
Desselle has been pushing COVID-19 misinformation for some time.
A video she posted in May 2022 which she captioned "Thanks Pfizer" shows her legs "spasming" while she watches television.
You can see it below.
\u201cThanks Pfizer\u201d— Angelia Desselle (@Angelia Desselle) 1651934083
But medical research has not identified leg spasms as one of the side-effects of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Politifact, the fact-checking service operated by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
Fact-checkers spoke with Desselle’s son, Brant Griner, who declined to share “where his mother received the vaccine, where she was admitted to the hospital, or which doctors she spoke with.”
Desselle herself has refused to answer any questions about her video.
Nevertheless, Politifact noted the video "has been treated as gospel among QAnon supporters and other anti-vaccine groups." Fact-checkers said a separate investigation by Wired also "came up empty."
Additionally, no "serious adverse reactions were ever reported in Desselle’s state of Louisiana during the time she allegedly began experiencing side effects" and her comment in one video attributing her symptoms to "some metals in the vaccine" is a nod to a long-debunked conspiracy theory about the vaccine's contents.
Twitter users were quick to mock Desselle's bogus claim.
\u201cWhen I get up from the toilet after sitting down too long\u201d— Plathanos \ud83d\udc1d\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4 (@Plathanos \ud83d\udc1d\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4) 1674520791
\u201cNa I've seen better acting on hollyoaks \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— CJ (@CJ) 1674483226
\u201cMe in P.E. trying to convince the coach that everything in my body was fatally shutting down just so I didn't have to do push-ups\u201d— BigCozyOrca\ud83d\udcab\ud83d\udd1e (@BigCozyOrca\ud83d\udcab\ud83d\udd1e) 1674456375
\u201cMy mom works in the entertainment industry, has been around actors and has worked on tv commercial projects for years now. \n\nShe says your acting sucks.\u201d— eriyan \u2022 \u1701\u1707\u1712\u170c\u1708\u1714 \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\udded\ud83d\udd1e | asawa ni kaeya \u2744\ufe0f (@eriyan \u2022 \u1701\u1707\u1712\u170c\u1708\u1714 \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\udded\ud83d\udd1e | asawa ni kaeya \u2744\ufe0f) 1674465318
Desselle's earlier video also spawned a new meme after users began sharing comical footage of their own alongside the phrase “Thanks Pfizer."
\u201cThanks pfizer\u201d— Thamires (@Thamires) 1674514038
\u201cthanks pfizer\u201d— Clara \ud83e\uddf8\ud83d\udef0\ufe0f (@Clara \ud83e\uddf8\ud83d\udef0\ufe0f) 1674504062
\u201cThanks Pfizer\u201d— Bernat Castro \u2b50 (@Bernat Castro \u2b50) 1674505179
\u201cThanks Pfizer\u201d— jungkook search brigade (@jungkook search brigade) 1674510891
While COVID-19 and associated vaccine conspiracies are sadly nothing new, they've received considerably more press as of late.
Earlier this month, prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk and other members of the far-right were criticized after suggesting the COVID-19 vaccine is to blame for football player Damar Hamlin's sudden cardiac arrest during the first quarter of a match against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Kirk—the founder of Turning Point USA which advocates for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses—said on Twitter Hamlin's collapse is just the latest example of "a tragic and all too familiar sight right now" that can be attributed to COVID-19 vaccines.
These claims were swiftly debunked but this has not stopped conservatives from pushing these claims even after Hamlin showed signs of recovery and was discharged from the hospital so he could rehabilitate at home.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
