A singer who frequently posts right-wing views on his social media pages was slammed after he tweeted a Tinder profile of a young journalist after super-liking her.
Phil Labonte is a 47-year-old musician best known as the lead singer for the metal band All That Remains. He declares himself a Libertarian and is an advocate for gun rights, drug legalization, and criminal justice reform.
He recently posted the dating profile of 23-year-old journalist Kat Abughazaleh, who covers right-wing extremism for the internet watchdog group Media Matters and also watches "Tucker Carlson so you don't have to."
On Monday night, Labonte tweeted about Abughazaleh, saying:
"I haven’t even gotten the keys to my apartment yet and Tinder is already tryin to hook me up with the Media Matters Tucker Carlson explainer girl.”
Accompanying the tweet was a screenshot of the journalist's Tinder profile.
\u201cI haven\u2019t even gotten the key to my apartment yet and tinder is already tryin to hook me up with the Media Matters Tucker Carlson explainer girl. \ud83d\ude02\u201d— Phil Labonte (@Phil Labonte) 1674435490
He additionally clarified in the comments:
“I’m not trying to be a Media Matters hit piece. I did send her a message like, ‘yo, Tinder is f***in with me!’”
As a result of Labonte exposing her Tinder page on another platform, Abughazaleh was barraged with misogynistic comments attacking her.
A disparaging remark included in response to Labone's posts was:
"You can fix her."
Another said:
"THAT'S her Tinder profile? She looks like a hooker waking up on the filthy floor of some slum."
And:
"That has 18 years of child support written all over it."
Abughazaleh compiled a selection of the hateful comments into a single image to share her point of view in a tweet.
"POV: You're a 23-year-old woman who researches right-wing extremism and a 47-year-old conservative commentator posts your dating profile on Twitter," she tweeted.
Abughazaleh assured allies she was unaffected by the slanderous remarks against her.
"I'm good, I promise! These people are pathetic and though it's gross, it's also pretty funny/sad (and a very regular thing)."
"I just picked 50 replies at random after some (cis) male friends expressed shock at the replies. I figured this was a good visual aid."
Those who found Labonte deeply disturbed denounced him in the comments.
\u201c@philthatremains Really looking forward to the two minute video response that lands this guy in a foreign prison.\u201d— Phil Labonte (@Phil Labonte) 1674435490
\u201c@philthatremains Groomer behavior bro\u201d— Phil Labonte (@Phil Labonte) 1674435490
\u201c@philthatremains Dude you\u2019re telling on yourself.\u201d— Phil Labonte (@Phil Labonte) 1674435490
\u201c@philthatremains How low is your age range set to search, Philip?\u201d— Phil Labonte (@Phil Labonte) 1674435490
\u201c@philthatremains Lol you\u2019re a 50 year old conservative on tinder looking at 23 year olds\u2026\n\nHow\u2019s that working out for you?\u201d— Phil Labonte (@Phil Labonte) 1674435490
It was later revealed that Labonte actually tweeted:
"I haven't even gotten the keys to my apartment yet and Tinder is playing games."
Many users came to Abughazaleh's defense.
\u201c@abughazalehkat What a wonderfully creative way to highlight the toxicity of the internet!\u201d— Kat Abu (@Kat Abu) 1674524153
\u201c@abughazalehkat How many conservative men are just absolutely triggered that they are of no interest anymore to women they find attractive. So the only answers are mocking, threats of sexual violence, and actual sexual violence. Sad little men\u201d— Kat Abu (@Kat Abu) 1674524153
\u201c@abughazalehkat Geezus, these people are just exhausting. Gross.\u201d— Kat Abu (@Kat Abu) 1674524153
\u201c@abughazalehkat Obviously, the work you do bothers them this deeply to make them revert to a pathetic, pretend, what they think alpha male esthetic is. Keep it up. It is obviously effective. \n\nAnyone bugging about grooming, it's gross, but it's not grooming. Let's trust Kat's handle on it\u201d— Kat Abu (@Kat Abu) 1674524153
\u201c@abughazalehkat Sorry you're going through this. These people have no shame...\u201d— Kat Abu (@Kat Abu) 1674524153
\u201c@abughazalehkat Once again I am left wondering how women make it through even one day on the internet...y'all are way stronger than any man\u201d— Kat Abu (@Kat Abu) 1674524153
\u201c@abughazalehkat This just tells me that he's afraid of you and honestly, as he should be. \ud83d\ude08\u201d— Kat Abu (@Kat Abu) 1674524153
Abughazaleh added in the thread of her post:
"Y'all... We can recognize that it's weird for a 47-year-old with more influence to tweet the Tinder profile of a 23-year-old without calling it 'grooming.'"
"I'm a grown woman. It's weird and hostile but it's definitely not 'predatory grooming' or whatever."