Julianna, a 19-year-old political strategist for the group Gen-Z for Change, says Gaetz shaming her on Twitter over the weekend helped her and the group raise the big sum in just 72 hours. After the $1 million milestone was reached, Julianna and other members of the Gen-Z for Change group sarcastically yelled “Thank you Matt Gaetz,” before blowing kisses to the Florida Republican in a short video shared on Twitter. “A Republican congressman, @mattgaetz, decided body shaming a teenager was okay,” Giuliana tweeted Thursday night. “So to do him justice, I raised $1 million in donations to abortion funds in less than 72 hours. Abortion is health care. Period. #ThanksMattGaetz.” A sitting Republican congressman, @mattgaetz, decided body shaming a teenager was okay. So, to stand up to him, I raised $1 million in donations to abortion funds in less than 72 hours. Abortion is health care. Period. #ThanksMattGaetz — Olivia Julianna 🗳 (@0liviajulianna) July 28, 2022 Gaetz sought to shame the young activist after she pushed back against comments she made during a conservative conference last weekend when she said women protesting in support of reproductive rights protests were “hateful from within” and had “the less chance of getting pregnant.” “It’s like 5 [feet]2 [inches]350 pounds, and he’s like, ‘Give me my abortions or I’m going to stand up and march and protest,’” Gaetz said. “I’m actually 5’11. 6’4 in heels,” Giuliana responded in a tweet on Sunday. “I wear them so little men like you remind me of your place.” More than $1 million in donations to an abortion fund was raised this week after Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida tried to shame a teenage activist. Gaetz is pictured during the Congressional Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida on February 26, 2022. Joe Raedle/Getty Gaetz, 40, soon after shared a Newsmax article with a headline describing his comments as “a song sure to bring grief to his political opponents,” along with a photo of Julianna and the comment “Dander raise …” . Giuliana responded with a series of tweets slamming Gaetz, including several referencing an investigation into the alleged sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. She also sent him several “thank you cards” when the donations began to climb rapidly. Julianna tweeted to Gaetz after donations topped $1 million on Thursday, “Please find out lol” and a new “thank you” card, which read: “How did this go up for Dander? Get updates – Olivia Julianna” . The Gaetz-inspired fundraising campaign raised over $300,000 in its first 48 hours, before catching fire to roughly triple that already impressive amount in the 24 hours that followed. The money will be distributed to 50 funds in states where abortion has been restricted or banned since Roe v. Wade. The amount of money given continued to grow and topped $1.1 million at the time of publication. “I’m in shock,” Giuliana told Newsweek earlier Thursday after the total had topped $500,000. “I didn’t think this would be as successful as it was. My goal was just to raise a few thousand dollars; I never expected this to take off like it has.” “[Gaetz] it gave me a national platform on a silver platter and now I can share my messages and my work with even more people,” he added.[If he] would accept my gift, I would like to send him a bouquet of flowers… One flower for every hundred thousand dollars we have raised so far for abortion funds.” “With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, America is now a pro-life nation,” a spokesman for Gaetz said in a statement to Newsweek on Tuesday, when donations had reached about $70,000. “No amount of pleading will change that.” Newsweek has reached out to Gaetz’s office and Julianna for additional comment.
