JonTron Draws The Ire Of Social Media After Tweeting Critically About Animal Testing In Vaccine Development

Controversial YouTuber JonTron, best known for never finishing Sonic '06 on Game Grumps, releasing a half-dozen videos a year and once asserting that "wealthy blacks commit more crime than poor whites," has returned to social media's crosshairs after posting a series of tweets that appeared to criticize alleged animal testing done under Dr. Fauci.

Just trust the science, Bro!!! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/SwfbBv4nEX

— JonTron (@JonTronShow) October 25, 2021

IMAGINE HAVING A SINGLE INQUIRY REGARDING THE SCIENCE™️, MY DUDES??? pic.twitter.com/bcTipyNyNz

— JonTron (@JonTronShow) October 25, 2021

As head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Fauci has come under scrutiny for allegedly funding studies done on beagles in Tunisia that saw the dogs' vocal cords removed and their heads force-fed to flies. There is some debate on if the allegations are true and confusion on whether the NIAID actually funded the study in question, which was testing vaccines for the disease Leishmania infantum, of which flies are a vector and dogs are a reservoir.

While Republicans and Democrats have called on Fauci to answer questions regarding the claims, right-leaning news organizations and politicians have been more vocal in trying to use the allegations to discredit Fauci, who has long drawn the ire of the American right for his expertise and guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This made JonTron's sarcastic "just trust the science, bro!" quip read like a potentially anti-COVID-vaccine statement, as even though the allegations against the NIAID have nothing to do with the development of COVID vaccines, JonTron's focus on Fauci resembles conservative anti-vax talking points. The most charitable reads on social media agreed with JonTron that the allegations are disturbing but have no bearing on whether or not vaccines are effective.

You can criticise Fauci for this sure, its fucked if true. But how does this actually disprove any of the scientific advice he's put forward regarding covid?

— DoctorDisco (@BusterferJ) October 25, 2021

Is this unethical and is there plenty of unethical science out there? Yes.

But if this is being used as an anti vax statement. I fail to see the correlation.

— Drevis (@Drevistwo) October 25, 2021

Many others were disappointed but not shocked that JonTron re-entered public consciousness with what appeared to be anti-vax tweets.

Wow, its good to see someone speaking out against animal cruelty. JonTron is a real down to earth guy, long time animal rights activist, no hidden agenda at all. https://t.co/YoUZrODQmd

— Peepers (@PeepersReturned) October 25, 2021

I am SHOCKED the guy parroting white nationalist talking points was turned into an anti-vaxxer. I am SHOCKED I TELL YOU. SHOCKED. https://t.co/vbegfqX2Rs

— Taytor (@Taytor___) October 25, 2021

remember when you said you were worried about immigrants entering the gene pool? https://t.co/AR65hS2nUO

— Nakmor Laura (@doubledepress0) October 25, 2021

After several hours of trending on Twitter, JonTron attempted to back away from the anti-vax implications of his tweets and cast himself as a citizen "concerned" that public discourse has reached a "dangerous level" of "conformity."

Just to be clear: I’m not saying you shouldn’t get vaccinated, that should be your choice. I’m also not saying the vaccine is unsafe. I want the best for everyone, I’m just concerned that the level of conformity around public discourse has reached dangerous levels. Stay safe✌️

— JonTron (@JonTronShow) October 26, 2021