"What exactly did he do wrong?" — TikToker Mena Ganey blasted by netizens for calling Lieutenant Dan a "grifter" with a criminal past

On October 10, 2024, TikToker, Mena Ganey, posted a video criticizing current internet fame Lieutenant Dan. Named after the Forest Gump character with one leg, Tampa, Florida man Joe Malinowski became popular all over TikTok after he refused to leave his boat as Hurricane Milton approached Florida.

Posting the video on X (formerly Twitter), Mena Ganey's caption stated:

"Lieutenant Dan is a digital creator who started a gofundme three weeks ago. He has four names: and was arrested for battering Leo/EMT with a violin. He’s already up to 20k and has accepted the mayors offer for shelter. I hate grifters."

While Mena's video garnered a lot of traction, internet users expressed their opinion on Mena calling Joe a grifter. Questioning Mena's claim on the TikToker, an X user tweeted:

"Sooooo, what exactly did he do wrong? 🤔"

"This lady in her million dollar home mad about a dude in a piece of crap dingy boat about to potentially die in a hurricane is wild" an X user mentioned

"I’m not giving him money or anything but I’ll gladly give clicks for the science experiment of “can a 20 footer survive a CAT 3”. Not sure what the issue here is? If he’s as bad as you say he is then why would you care what he does?" another X user stated

"Lieutenant Dan is on that sailboat = not grifting. The only grifter I see in the situation is YOU - exploiting him for clicks" an internet user commented

"Talk about chasing clout. You mad cus you in a fortress and he’s in a dingy boat so you gonna slander him to get views off his bravery. Cool." another internet user said

Moreover, some internet users also called Mena out for some incorrect facts like alleging the TikToker started his own GoFundMe when it was actually Will Shadrick who began the initiative:

"Lots of misinformation here Mena. You can still delete this." an X user tweeted

"Lots of misunderstandings here. First, someone else set up the GoFundMe for him; this is not only public but well known, as the young man who did it said he did so on video. (My concern is actually making sure the funds get to the proper person.)" another X user clarified

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"Its really hard to tell who exactly he is": Mena Ganey mentions in TikTok video about Lieutenant Dan

In her TikTok video allegedly exposing Lieutenant Dan, Mena Ganey mentioned that Joe Malinowski has more than $20,000 in his GoFundMe account alleging it is under a different name and that he's not homeless. She also mentioned that Joe went to prison for beating an EMT with a violin.

Mena also stated:

"His GoFundMe is under a different name than the one he's using in the daily press and the one he was arrested in. So its really hard to tell who exactly he is."

Mena said that Joe put himself in the worst place in Tampa knowing that there was going to be a hurricane. She also mentioned that Lieutenant Dan was offered hotels and homes but he made money on GoFundMe from the clout he received.

Mena Ganey said that there are homeless, gravely infirm, and ill people in Tampa who cannot leave their cars or move to other places and those are the people who have her sympathy instead of people who chase internet fame.

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On October 10, 2024, anchor for FOX 13 News Kevin O'Donnell posted a video of Lieutenant Dan on X updating his fans that the TikToker survived the hurricane on his 20 ft sailboat and talked about his wild night.