Former QAnon believer issues jaw-dropping apology to Anderson Cooper for thinking he eats babies
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper aired an extraordinary interview on Saturday with a former QAnon believer (CNN)
A deradicalized QAnon believer has apologised on-air to Anderson Cooper for previously believing that he eats babies.
The CNN anchor aired an extraordinary interview on Saturday with Jitarth Jadeja, a former believer of the far-right conspiracy theorist movement – which is based on a series of increasingly bizarre beliefs about Donald Trump waging a secret war on the Democratic elite.
Surreal beliefs routinely advocated by QAnon followers include that liberal celebrities and Democratic officials have been secretly arrested over a large-scale conspiracy to steal children for ritual Satanic abuse.
A number of prominent LGBT+ celebrities and allies are targeted by the conspiracy theorists, including Cooper, Ellen DeGeneres, Lady Gaga and Madonna.
Ex-QAnon supporter very sorry for thinking Anderson Cooper ate babies
Jadeja, who was a fully signed-up QAnon believer until 2019, was asked by Cooper if he had believed celebrities were drinking the blood of children and worshipping Satan.
He responded: “Anderson, I thought that you did that. I would like to apologise for that right now. I apologise for thinking that you ate babies. But yeah, 100 per cent”
Cooper, who is the father to a young son, asked: “Was it something about me that made you think that?”
Former QAnon believer to @andersoncooper: "I apologize for thinking that you ate babies" pic.twitter.com/IcVIwpYykd
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 30, 2021
Jadeja responded: “Q [the fake anonymous source of QAnon’s beliefs] specifically mentioned you, and he mentioned you very early on.
“He mentioned you by name, and from there… he also talked about your family [the Vanderbilts]. I’ve got to be honest, people still talk about that to this day. There were posts about that just four days ago. Some people thought you’re a robot.”
Asked if he genuinely believed the conspiracies, Jadeja added: “I didn’t just believe that… I at one stage believe that Q was part of military intelligence, which is what he says. On top of that, that the the people behind them were actually a group of fifth-dimensional inter-dimensional extra-terrestrial bipedal bird aliens called Blue Avians.
“I was so far down in this conspiracy black hole that I was essentially picking and choosing whatever narrative that I wanted to believe in.”
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper aired an extraordinary interview on Saturday with a former QAnon believer Jitarth Jadeja (CNN)
A number of QAnon believers exited the movement when Joe Biden became president, crashing through predictions that the inauguration was an elaborate cover for mass arrests of Democrats.
However, the conspiracy theory continues to thrive even under Biden’s presidency, with many advancing the nonsense belief that Donald Trump is secretly still the president.
Unhinged QAnon conspiracy theory has made inroads in Congress
At least two Republicans who have previously expressed support for QAnon, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, were elected to Congress in November.
A CNN investigation previously revealed that before Greene took office she had liked several posts about executing Democrats, including one that called for a “bullet to the head” of Nancy Pelosi. In another post from April 2018, she personally assured commenters that the “stage is being set” for the hanging of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Greene was also shown to have liked the anti-LGBT+ hate group MassResistance on Facebook, and in 2019 she joined the hate group in protesting a library’s Drag Queen Story Time event.
“Trans does not mean gender change, it just means a gender refusal and gender pretending! Truth is truth, it is not a choice!!!” she wrote on Facebook days before, mistakenly confusing drag queens and transgender people.
