Content Warning: Portions of the following entry contains mentions and/or depictions of sexual violence and child abuse. If you need support or you or a loved one are in an abusive situation, please contact the National Sexual Violence Resource Center or call 1-800-656-HOPE.

Overview

Claudia Conway Topless Photo Twitter Fleet refers to an ongoing controversy regarding accusations that former White House advisor Kellyanne Conway shared illicit photographs of her 16-year-old daughter Claudia Conway on Twitter. In since-deleted TikTok videos, Claudia blamed her mother for the incident. However, she later recanted, stating that she believed her mother either posted the image accidentally or was the victim of hacking.

Background

On January 19th, 2021, Twitter user @defnoodles shared deleted videos from Claudia Conway's TikTok that feature Claudia being verbally abused and mocked by her mother. They captioned the post, "Claudia Conway shares videos exposing her mother former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway verbally and physically abusing her. Claudia said in a comment CPS won’t do anything because her parents are too powerful."

SERIOUS CW: Child AbuseClaudia Conway shares videos exposing her mother former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway verbally and physically abusing her. Claudia said in a comment CPS won’t do anything because her parents are too powerful. pic.twitter.com/dAaBrXm9xU

— Def Noodles (@defnoodles) January 19, 2021

On January 26th, 2021, Kellyanne Conway allegedly posted a topless photograph of her daughter, Claudia, on Twitter through the "fleets" feature, which deletes posts after 24 hours.^[1]

In a since-deleted video, Claudia Conway responded to the post on TikTok in which she speculates that her mother may have been hacked but warns her mother that she will face legal repercussions as a result of the photo (mirror below) . She said, "I’m assuming my mom took a picture of it to use against me one day and then somebody hacked her or something […] nobody would ever have any photo like that, ever. So, Kellyanne, you’re going to fucking jail."

Spread

Claudia Conway's Statement

On January 26th, 2021, after removing the immediate reaction to the pictures, Claudia Conway posted a statement on the situation. In a series of TikTok videos, Conway urged followers to "stop calling authorities" and stated that she believes her mother was hacked (shown below). She says, "I know that my mom would never, ever post anything to hurt me like that intentionally, and I do believe she was hacked."

That day, Kellyanne's husband and Claudia's father, George Conway tweeted^[2] the statement. He wrote, "Our daughter Claudia asked me to tweet this statement for her." The post received more than 17,000 likes and 4,000 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Online Reaction

Many reacted with concern to the reports of the photo. Redditor 192_168_1_x posted about the incident in the /r/nottheonion^[3] subreddit, where the story received more than 20,000 points (95% upvoted) and 2,400 comments in less than 24 hours.

On Twitter, people expressed outrage. Twitter^[3] user @billg18211 wrote, "Claudia is trending because Kellyanne Conway posted a topless photo of her, 16 yo, daughter Claudia Conway online. This was supposedly revenge porn. Any questions if this woman belongs in jail or not?" The tweet received more than 9,000 likes and 2,000 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, left). Twitter^[4] user @Angry_Staffer tweeted, "If you see the photo of Claudia Conway circulating, please report it immediately. I’m not going to pile on to the rest of the commentary -- I just hope the entire family gets the help they need." The tweet received more than 12,000 likes and 1,500 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Legal Investigation

That day, officers from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Alpine Police Department launched an investigation into the post. Alpine Police Chief Christopher Belcolle said, "An investigation is being conducted. No additional information can be released."^[5]

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the controversy, including Variety,^[1] The New York Post,^[5] NBC,^[6] BuzzFeed ^[7] and more.

Search Interest

External References