Actor Antonio Sabato Jr. has once again drawn the internet's ire after he spread disinformation about the pandemic on Twitter.
It all began when the 90s heartthrob, a devoted follower of former Republican President Donald Trump and an enthusiastic conspiracy theorist, tweeted an essay written by fellow anti-vaxxer Wayne Allyn Root about Ivermectin, a primarily veterinary parasiticide right-wingers claim cures COVID-19.
COVID-19 is caused by a virus, not a parasite.
But then things took an even more absurd turn. Because Sabato simply posted the link with no other context, his tweet, seen below, looked as if he himself wrote the piece.
And now right-wingers are asking a former star of Melrose Place for medical advice.
How I Beat COVID-19 in 48 Hours with Ivermectin, Just Like Joe Rogan and NFL Quarterback Aaron Rodgers https://t.co/DiI6CpzurP
— Antonio Sabato Jr. (@AntonioSabatojr) December 5, 2021
The essay's title alone, "How I Beat COVID-19 in 48 Hours with Ivermectin, Just Like Joe Rogan and NFL Quarterback Aaron Rodgers," should be enough to dissuade anyone from heeding its advice but...
In the article, Root claims to have been miraculously cured of COVID-19 in just two days by using the veterinary drug most commonly used as a horse dewormer, just in time for his wedding to "sexy" third wife Cindy.
If that sounds too good to be true, that's because it probably is—and if you were at Root's wedding you should probably go get tested for COVID.
Though there has been some evidence in laboratory settings massive doses of Ivermectin are effective against COVID-19, the dosages required to duplicate those laboratory effects in the human body are poisonously lethal to humans.
In other words, if you take a toxic dosage of Ivermectin, it could kill the COVID-19 virus and probably every biological organism in your body and you.
Sound medical advice for sure.
And both Rogan and Rodgers also received monoclonal antibodies, an approved treatment for COVID-19 that is far more likely to be what helped them—and former President Trump, for that matter—get over the infection.
But Sabato Jr. never met a right-wing talking point he wasn't willing to fall in lockstep with.
After all, this is the guy who's still out here shilling for the Republican Party even though they turned on him when he ran for Congress in 2018 for having done nude gay love scenes back in the 2000s. He's the perfect poster boy for absurd claims about the miraculous effects of horse dewormer.
Unfortunately, he's also led a bunch of easily duped MAGA minions along with him, who've been peppering him with questions about his non-existent medical expertise.
Oh boy.
What dose and frequency of Iverm did you take?
— Futures Trader 541 (@GmoneyTrader) December 5, 2021
How did you get the ivermectin? We need that so bad!
— Sarah Foley (@mamasnookems) December 6, 2021
Where does one get Ivermectin? The sites I’ve seen selling it are charging hundreds of dollars!
— Philip Tympanick (@philtymps) December 6, 2021
You need to find a doctor willing to prescribe it, no?
— The Real Jeff Needenz (@jefferino_co) December 5, 2021
But thankfully there was also no shortage of people mocking this whole thing.
pic.twitter.com/IC9dJa6DGR
— Brad Reed (@broroo69) December 6, 2021
Well you don’t have worms, that’s something.
— John Burg Jr (@JohnBurgJr) December 6, 2021
How did you do it without turning into a horse?
— DC/DB’s Coach Chad (@WhoDatVol) December 6, 2021
Or just get vaccinated....
— Simon (@SimonSyhiggs) December 6, 2021
pic.twitter.com/2T2cfMpa7n
— richard bong (@cooleybird11) December 6, 2021
While being a right-wing conspiracy theorist has so damaged Sabato Jr.'s reputation he's had to change careers—his new gig is construction—he's still distinctly unqualified to give medical advice.