Far-right Republican Representative Matt Gaetz has once again drawn the internet's ire after posting an unflattering photo of his new wife Ginger Luckey sleeping on a plane on Twitter.
It seems that Gaetz's aim was to poke fun at his new bride, but most people on Twitter seemed to find the photo mean-spirited to the point of being a little creepy.
The tweet, seen below, shows a photo of Luckey fast asleep with her mouth hanging out, with a caption in which Gaetz sarcastically extols her beauty.
So blessed to be with the beautiful \u2066@LuckeyGinger\u2069pic.twitter.com/yOmG9WFdXE— Matt Gaetz (@Matt Gaetz) 1629466899
The caption read:
"So blessed to be with the beautiful @LuckeyGinger"
Given the airplane setting of the photo and the fact it was posted the day before Gaetz and Luckey's ceremony on Southern California's Catalina Island, it seems likely that Gaetz took the unflattering photograph and then used it to mock his new wife's appearance while they were en route to their wedding.
How charming. What an absolute gem of a guy.
The weird choice in tweets wasn't the only eyebrow-raising detail of Gaetz and Luckey's wedding, either--the timing struck many as suspicious, given that Gaetz and Luckey had previously announced they would not marry until next year.
Many have speculated the wedding was moved up due to the ongoing Justice Department probe into Gaetz's involvement in the sex-trafficking ring of his close friend Joel Greenberg. It is believed Gaetz carried on a lengthy relationship with an underage girl he paid for sex and who was trafficked by Greenberg.
Greenberg has pled guilty to six federal crimes as part of a plea deal predicated upon his cooperation in the FBI's related investigations, including the one into Gaetz. Greenberg has reportedly already given the FBI thousands of photos and videos related to the investigations.
As for the photo, Luckey herself seemed to take the post in jest, quote-tweeting it with a joke of her own about needing beauty sleep. But for people on Twitter, Gaetz's weirdly mean-spirited joke at his new wife's expense was just another example of Gaetz's questionable character--especially as pertains to his treatment of women.
And there was no shortage of blowback.
I would literally break up with you over posting this photo.— Kate \ud83e\udd0d\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Kate \ud83e\udd0d\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1629470956
Your act of posting a pic of her captured while she was sleeping, without her permission, particularly in a position which she would not approve, is further testimony to your misogyny, objectification, crassness, oafishness, and complete lack of empathy.— Dr. Jack Brown (@Dr. Jack Brown) 1629506069
Didn't Al Franken resign for something similar to this?— David Weissman (@David Weissman) 1629566169
Nice to show the world how much you respect your girlfriend\u2019s privacy. How creepy is that? Anything for a laugh, eh Matt?— \ud83d\udc99Rapunzel\u2122 VAXXED\ud83d\udc99 (@\ud83d\udc99Rapunzel\u2122 VAXXED\ud83d\udc99) 1629496433
Let's hope when she wakes up and sees this pic going viral, she really wakes up.— \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0d Meaghan not Megan \ud83c\udf0d\ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0d Meaghan not Megan \ud83c\udf0d\ud83c\udf0a) 1629559334
Creepy AF!!!!— Agolf Twitler Slayer (@Agolf Twitler Slayer) 1629489715
The creep factor on this photo is off the charts.— Matt Johnson (@Matt Johnson) 1629544564
This is the weirdest Tweet I think I\u2019ve ever seen in my entire life.— \ud83c\udf99News You Need (@\ud83c\udf99News You Need) 1629565387
Nice beard, Drunky. How many roofies did that take? She's a little older & bigger than the teenagers you usually drug & rape, right Captain Venmo?— Tara Dublin (@Tara Dublin) 1629493721
It looks like you Bill Cosbyed her. \n\nFrankly, no surprise there.— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@Mrs. Betty Bowers) 1629512270
Gaetz has repeatedly denied the multiple allegations against him.
Luckey has publicly defended him on social media, including in response to her own sister who last month called Gaetz a "pedophile" in a viral TikTok.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@WhiteHouse/X
@RandPaul/X
@ieb123.bsky.social
@altfactsrlies.bsky.social
@dreamblu.bsky.social
@KellyAyotteX
@KellyAyotte/X