Marjorie Taylor Greene selling t-shirts mocking mpox, despite US deaths
Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is selling t-shirts mocking mpox, despite the fact that people have died from the disease. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Right-wing conservative Marjorie Taylor Greene is selling t-shirts making fun of mpox – formely known as monkeypox – despite the fact people have died of the disease.
The Georgia Republican is selling the unisex t-shirts, which come in black and white, for $34 on her official website.
Other products on Greene’s website, including bumper stickers, hats and mugs, read “Proud Christian Nationalist” and “Defund The FBI”.
The t-shirts feature three monkey emojis, in a reference to the Japanese “three wise monkeys” maxim – an embodiment of the principle of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.
The first monkey emoji is covering its eyes, the second its ears and the third its mouth. Underneath, the shirt reads: “See no monkeypox, hear no monkeypox, speak no monkeypox.”
Greene has repeatedly mocked mpox, a viral infection similar to smallpox, which has particularly affected gay and bisexual men during recent outbreaks.
As stated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the disease is passed through personal, direct contact with an mpox rash and scabs from a person with the virus, as well as through contact with their saliva, snot or mucus and areas around the anus, rectum or vagina.
Data from the CDC shows that in the US, there have been 30,225 cases of mpox – compared with 86,231 cases globally – and 38 deaths.
The US has both the highest number of cases and deaths for mpox anywhere in the world, while Georgia – the state Greene represents – actually has the fifth highest case count for mpox infections in America.
In July, Greene said the disease was something to “laugh at”, “mock” and “reject”. She also called it a “another scam”, in reference to Covid-19.
As reported by LGBTQ Nation, in an interview with journalist Allison Royal, Greene said: “Of course, monkeypox is a threat to some people in our population.
“But we know what causes it, and that’s pretty much, um … it’s basically a sexually transmitted disease. So it’s not a threat to most of the population.”
Two months later, in September, the Republican politician said in a Facebook video that “no one” cared about mpox and blasted Democrats for spending money tackling the virus.
In the UK, there have been 3,735 confirmed cases of mpox.
