The internet's calling out Ken Bone over his Reddit history
It turns out, Ken Bone may not be quite who you thought he was – at least, that’s what a recent peek at the 34-year-old man’s Reddit history is suggesting.
The red sweater-wearing undecided voter from Illinois, who dubbed himself the “mascot” of last weekend’s town hall debate, hosted a Reddit AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) late Thursday.
“Hey @reddit, come step into the #BoneZone AMA,” Bone tweeted from his account, which now has more than 240,000 followers.
The problem: Bone forgot to delete his history before revealing his Reddit username – StanGibson18.
When users searched the history of “StanGibson18,” they may have found some of Bone’s past comments a little disturbing.
From making crude comments about porn and women’s bodies to weighing in on controversial cases such as the deadly shooting of Trayvon Martin, Bone’s history revealed more than he might have intended.
In one thread, he discussed his vasectomy, describing that his “sexual satisfaction is way up.”
In another, he called the 2012 fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin “justified” – although he held a dim view of George Zimmerman, too.
On Friday, Bone clarified his stance on Twitter: “I do not condone the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Justifiable means legal, not right,” he tweeted.
Other posts shed a bit more light on his politics. Bone described himself as “pretty conservative” but admitted President Obama seems “like a good dude” – adding, “[Cue hate from ultra right wing friends and family]”
In another thread drawing negative attention, Bone scolded Jennifer Lawrence for not being “more careful with her pics” in a discussion of the hacking that exposed the actress’ personal nude photos. “The bad guys are still the ones who sought them out and looked at them. By which I mean guys like me,” he said.
Needless to say, the internet was not pleased.
“#KenBone is reddit trash and I am heartbroken,” one person tweeted in response.
“The fall of Ken Bone is exactly why I have never posted on Reddit/Digg/Fark/4Chan/Chive & don’t use FB comments on articles,” another chimed in.
But it doesn’t seem to faze Bone.
“I’m not running for president,” he posted. “I can say whatever I want.”
And when a user asked, “Who told you it was a good idea to use your real reddit username?” He replied, “It was a bad call. I need to fire my agent, except I can’t because I’m my agent.”
Bone has been capitalizing on his newfound internet fame by selling knockoff campaign t-shirts with his face printed on the front and reporting as a post-debate correspondent for Jimmy Kimmel.
But some internet users think it’s time for Bone to throw in the towel – or the memorabilia, at the very least.
“Can we possibly agree that his 15 minutes have now officially, mercifully, expired?” one Twitter user implored.