What did John Rich do? Twitter disabled person controversy explained as country singer garners backlash online

American Country musician and songwriter John Rich has garnered criticism online after he passed some remarks on a person’s physical appearance on Twitter. On July 31, @TizzyEnt shared a video by TikTok creator Potatum on Twitter.

As per the creator’s bio, she is on the spectrum of autism and is an AuDHD advocate. On July 7, Potatum shared a video on Americans refusing to take precautions against COVID. Her video somehow reached John and he commented on the post telling Potatum to try going outside and get some Vitamin D.

He also attached a link to an article by PubMed. Not only that, John Rich went on to quote tweet Potatum’s video and humorously referred to her as a “poor girl”. He also derided her by writing that Vitamin D-deficient people are more likely to be hospitalized with COVID. John told her to get some sunshine and move on with her life.

Several followers of the singer also flocked to Potatum’s comment section and threw heavy insults at her. The creator shared another video on July 16 where she addressed the issue and said that a country music superstar harassed her.

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TikTok creator calls John Rich out for insulting her physical appearance

Potatum began her second video by saying that she had recently voiced her frustration as a high-risk immunocompromised disabled person who is unable to safely exist in public.

The creator mocked John Rich by saying that when she posted the video she did not expect a multi-millionaire country singer to be "moved" by her words.

Referring to John's Twitter profile where he put up an emoji of the American flag next to his name, Potatum said:

"Whenever I see an American flag in a display name, I die inside, because people who craft their entire personality around being born in the U.S. don't tend to see eye-to-eye with me. I checked his profile and saw that he was the lesser half of my boomer dad's favorite country group Big & Rich."

Potatum ridiculed the singer for being a 50-year-old musician and still choosing to dig at a TikTok creator's physical appearance and sharing unsolicited misinformation regarding human health.

The creator continued that shortly after John's comment on her video, she was flooded with comments from "grossly misinformed" netizens. Potatum further mocked the singer by saying that she cannot reason with someone who thinks chugging a beer while chowing down a steak out in the sunshine is a cure for any illness.

Potatum said she had to spend an entire day hiding replies from people who called her everything under the sun and blocking them. She mentioned some of the names she was called by those people, including "mentally ill nasty foul-mouth woman", a "lazy g*mp", a "deranged creature", a "pathetic parasite", and so on. She shared that she even got roasted for wearing glasses.

The creator kept deriding John Rich and said that he was probably indoctrinated early in his life and never felt the need to challenge his beliefs, encouraging him to incorrectly think that his reality is the only reality. Potatum called the singer an "ableist misogynistic bigot".

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John Rich garners backlash online over disabled person controversy

Viewers responded to Potatum's video which @TizzyEnt shared on Twitter. Many agreed with the TikTok creator and said that John is a problematic person and a bully.

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Potatum shared another video on July 23, where she showed the hate comments from John Rich’s followers that she received. The creator said that she had to go through every single word and hide the replies manually, adding that her physical and mental health had suffered due to the amount of hatred and depravity hurled at her.

She also wrote that celebrities who use their fans as weapons against disabled people should not be called celebrities.