Valentina Gomez, a controversial MAGA influencer and former Missouri Secretary of State candidate, has been suspended from Instagram following months of posting inflammatory and homophobic content. The suspension, enacted by Meta, the parent company of Instagram, comes after widespread criticism and reports from advocacy groups.
Gomez gained notoriety earlier this year after a campaign ad in which she infamously urged viewers to “don’t be weak and gay.” Her account, @ValentinaForUSA, featured numerous videos where she repeatedly used anti-gay slurs and made derogatory comments about the LGBTQ community.
In her final Instagram post, Gomez directed a series of slurs towards members of the LGBTQ community while addressing Elon Musk about her account on the platform X, formerly Twitter.
“Elon, I speak the truth. I catch pedophiles, and I am literally helping you destroy the woke virus that took your child. And yes, once in a blue moon I called these f*****s exactly what they are. They are f*****s,” she said in her video posted on Instagram before she was suspended.
Gomez posted the video on X as well, adding: “Elon, I don’t ask for much. I simply ask that you don’t throttle me or restrict me when I say the word f*****t.”
The backlash against Gomez’s posts prompted GLAAD, an organization advocating for LGBTQ rights and representation, to report her content to Meta multiple times. GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis expressed disappointment over the delay in action from Meta, stating, “It’s unfortunate that it took so long for them to act on this hate-filled content.”
This incident raises ongoing concerns about the enforcement of policies against hate speech on social media platforms. Advocates hope that Gomez’s suspension marks a shift in Meta’s approach to handling anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
