Matt Gaetz, Alyssa Milano find common ground on array of topics
Matt Gaetz, Alyssa Milano

Screen Shot 2019-02-10 at 2.32.48 PM
Both have been on TV. That's not all they have in common.

A weekend back-and-forth between actress-turned-activist Alyssa Milano and extra-turned-congressman Matt Gaetz left Twitter atwitter this weekend.

It started when Gaetz defended Milano from an online troll Saturday. After a user called Milano’s acting career and political views “garbage,” Gaetz chimed in.

“Her political views are a hot mess, but her charm in ‘Who’s the boss’ was clearly preferable to my minor roles on @SHO_TheCircus & #TheTrumanShow,” he tweeted.

The Seaside native’s home appeared in the Jim Carrey film “The Truman Show,” shot in Florida. “The Circus,” meanwhile, is a documentary show on Showtime that regularly interviews elected officials.

But after Gaetz weighed in on the social media conversation, Milano took notice.

“Hey, .@MattGaetz, aren’t you that fringe-right Republican who supports weed and LGBTQ rights?,” she wrote.

“And now you’re telling me you’ve acted in two TV shows?! You’re one of those out-of-touch Hollywood elites! SNOWFLAKE!”

Gaetz issued a few emoticon claps, then noted a few other issues where he’s left of far-right.

“Alyssa, you’re right. Don’t forget animal welfare and climate change,” he wrote.

It prompted further conversation between the two cable news regulars.

Milano asked if Gaetz supported the Equal Rights Amendment. Gaetz said the 14th Amendment should suffice.

While the genuine warmth between the two may be hard to gauge on Twitter, Milano told her own followers she appreciated the areas of common ground.

“The point is more about the Right usually does not agree with us and it seems Matt does,” she said. “Also, the Right normally does not fight for LGBTQ rights, and I do believe Matty has.”

But as the conversation played out, it left some confused and a few upset.

“As a Conservative Republican I am very disappointed,” wrote former Congressional candidate Ed Shoemaker.

Likewise, many of Milano’s followers dismissed Gaetz as a right-winger.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


One comment

  • Kevin Clark

    February 10, 2019 at 7:40 pm

    Anytime there can be a civil discourse between right and left especially far-right and far-left it is good. Because as long as both sides are screaming at each other neither side is going to listen to either side is going to learn. However when they are presented civilly the other side is more likely to at least try to understand and maybe even consider some analysis of the other side’s views.

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