Kyle Rittenhouse has branded podcast host Joanne Carducci, better known as JoJoFromJerz, "gross" after she publicly declared her plans to vote for President Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election.
Rittenhouse, 20, has been a trending topic on social media in recent days, after it was announced that he would be releasing a book, Acquitted. Rittenhouse has described the tome as a "story of survival, resilience, and justice."
The announcement sparked an online uproar, particularly as Rittenhouse rose to national prominence over three shootings—two of which were fatal—at a protest in Wisconsin.
In the book, he discusses the circumstances around his fatal shootings of 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum and 26-year-old Anthony Huber in August 2020. Rittenhouse also injured 26-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz at the protest held after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot by a white police officer that same month.
Rittenhouse argued that he used the gun in self-defense and was acquitted on charges of first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and two charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Having made his conservative political leanings known in recent years, Rittenhouse last week voiced his disapproval as podcaster Carducci participated in a trend on X, formerly Twitter, where users responded to one another with their age and voting intentions.
After a number of popular X users chimed in with their voting plans, Carducci took over from Star Trek actor George Takei's pledge to vote for Democrat Biden.
"I'm 49 & I'll proudly be voting to re-elect both President Biden AND Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Pass it on," Carducci wrote.
Rittenhouse responded to Carducci's post by writing: "Gross." The single-word post has been viewed more than 1 million times.
"F*** off, Kyle. The grown ups are talking," Carducci, who describes herself as a "passionate anti-Trumper," hit back.
"So much for a grown up telling a 20 year old to f*** off but I guess that's the left for you," Rittenhouse responded.
Carducci, who discusses politics on her podcast Are You F'ng Kidding Me? With JoJoFromJerz, then brought up Rittenhouse's Wisconsin shootings.
"Curious, if you're not a big enough boy for a bad word, how are you big enough to carry a great, big, 'manly' weapon?" Carducci wrote. "And while it is pretty hilarious watching you try to fit your entire vocabulary into one sentence, you've long since grown tedious, so listen up little boy, cuz I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you twice—stop using my account to get engagement. It's not going to sell whatever hot trash it is you're peddling."
"Ask mommy to take you to Walmart and you can set up a little table outside like the Girl Scouts do when they're selling their cookies. Just start crying on cue. You're good at that s***, right?" Carducci went on, in apparent reference to Rittenhouse crying and hyperventilating on the stand during his 2021 trial.
"Now, run along little one," Carducci concluded. "Your overpriced kitty litter liners ain't gonna sell themselves."
The social media personality rounded out her rebuke by adding a GIF that ordered Rittenhouse to "Shoo! Go away."
On Sunday, Carducci took to Instagram to share a screenshot of part of her X exchange with Rittenhouse. An additional post from Carducci read: "Kyle Rittenhouse is the reason God created the middle finger."
Newsweek has contacted Carducci via Instagram for comment.
Rittenhouse's spat comes days after it was stated by his criminal defense attorney that he has lost his money since he was acquitted in the Wisconsin shootings.
Talking to Court TV, attorney Mark Richards, who represented Rittenhouse at the trial, said: "He is working, he is trying to support himself. Everybody thinks that Kyle got so much money from this. Whatever money he did get is gone.
"He's living, I don't want to say paycheck to paycheck, but he's living to support himself. Obviously, as his lawyer and somebody who I want to do well, I hope he does re-engage in his studies. But right now he is working full-time, he is living a law-abiding life and he is doing something that he enjoys."
Newsweek has contacted Rittenhouse via X for comment.
Rittenhouse has been open about needing money in the past and previously used an appearance on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show to request donations to his legal fund. He faces lawsuits from the man he shot and injured, as well as from the father of one of the two men he killed.
Richards, who is also representing Rittenhouse in his upcoming civil cases, said of his client's book: "He talked to me about it, I read the book before it went to the publisher, I have no problem with him writing the book, he lived it, he paid for it, and it's his story to tell."
"I think he wanted the whole story told. I represented Kyle from almost the beginning until the trial. That was approximately 15 months, and when I read the book, there were a lot of things I didn't know," Richards said.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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