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A Team USA Paintball athlete has come under fire after posting a video in which she says a hospitalized teenager doesn’t need a COVID-19 vaccine, but a treadmill.
“Ma’am, your child doesn’t need a COVID vaccine,” Team USA Paintball member Jess Maiolo said in a now-deleted TikTok. “Your kid needs a fucking treadmill.”
The video shows Maiolo superimposed on a screenshot from another video showing a news broadcast of a teenager who has been hospitalized due to the coronavirus. The original video was reposted with comments from @ rx0rcist, a creator of TikTok who frequently posts videos calling out others for spreading COVID disinformation on the platform.
Maiolo’s TikTok account has since been banned due to violations of community guidelines. Her Instagram and Facebook pages also appear to have been deleted.
After sharing what Maiolo said, @ rx0rcist wrote that she is posting to Team USA Paintball’s Instagram account, claiming to do so daily until she gets a response.
According to @ rx0rcist, an apology video from Maiolo is imminent.
“I just heard that an apology video is coming,” she wrote. “I’m not interested (and it’s not for me to accept). She must be removed from the team.
Tiktok / @ rx0rcist
@ rx0rcist wrote that she also contacted sponsors.
“Overnight update: Team USA Paintball has yet to respond,” @ rx0rcist wrote yesterday. “Sponsors have been contacted. Check my IG for more. Will be updated here tomorrow.
Tiktok / @ rx0rcist
The video was enough for some to send their own messages to the paintball team. As of August 7, comments on the team’s Instagram page have been limited.
TikTok / @ rx0rcist
Another commentator wrote that she could not understand behaving this way when children are sick.
“I’ve seen so many videos of mean adults with kids and even babies because they’re in the hospital with COVID,” she wrote. “I don’t understand it.”
TikTok / @ rx0rcist
The Daily Dot contacted @ rx0rcist and Team USA Paintball. Maiolo could not be reached for this story.
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* First published: August 7, 2021, 2:09 p.m. CDT
Brooke Sjoberg
Brooke Sjoberg is an editorial intern for The Daily Dot and is studying journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also the life and arts editor of the Daily Texan and an editorial intern for Texas Connect magazine.
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