Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance used a clip of a 2007 Miss Teen USA contestant to try to make fun of presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and it didn't exactly go as planned. Many social media users were quick to point out that the contestant, Caitlin Upton, contemplated suicide because of the bullying and humiliation she experienced after the competition in 2007, yet Vance decided to share the embarrassing video again 17 years later.
In an interview with CNN, Vance said he didn't realize that Upton had struggled with her mental health and considered suicide, but he still wouldn't apologize for sharing the clip.
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He used the clip of Upton to mock Kamala Harris' CNN interview.
Vance shared the clip of Upton on X on August 29, writing, "BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview."
The clip from 2007 shows Upton answering the question, "Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?”
Upton struggled to answer the question, rambling and failing to give a coherent response.
Upton's answer to the question caused her to lose friends, receive threatening and mean messages, and struggle with depression.
The embarrassing moment went viral, and Upton later spoke to New York magazine about how it impacted her. She told the outlet that she "lost a lot of close friends over it" and received "the harshest, meanest comments I had ever heard."
At one point, someone left a letter in her mailbox telling her to "go die for your stupidity."
"I definitely went through a period where I was very, very depressed. But I never let anybody see that stuff, except for people I could trust," Upton told the outlet. "I had some very dark moments where I thought about committing suicide."
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People called Vance out for sharing the clip.
Many were quick to respond to Vance's post, telling him about Upton's mental health challenges.
"You forced former Miss South Carolina to relive public humiliation, bullying and cruelty that once lead her to consider suicide," one person wrote on X.
Others pointed out that Upton had supported former President Donald Trump in the past, yet Vance chose to make fun of her.
"You're making fun of her?" another person wrote on X. "It seems very on brand for you to send a message like this to women."
Upton responded, saying 'online bullying needs to stop.'
Upton also weighed in on Vance's use of the clip in a now-deleted post on X. "It’s a shame that 17 years later this is still being brought up," she wrote, per Deadline. "There’s not too much else to say about it at this point. Regardless of political beliefs, one thing I do know is that social media and online bullying needs to stop."
Vance wouldn't apologize.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, August 30, Vance said he hopes Upton is doing well and he did not know about her mental health challenges. At the same time, he said "politics has got way too lame" and "I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke."
"You can have some fun while making an argument to the American people about improving their lives," Vance said. He added that he has "said a lot of stupid things on camera" but "the best way to deal with it is to laugh at ourselves."
"I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke, but I wish the best for Caitlin," he continued in the interview. "I hope that she’s doing well. And again, what I’d say is, one bad moment shouldn’t define anybody, and the best way to deal with this stuff is to laugh at ourselves."
