Jesse Ridgway is speaking out again, feeling deeply disturbed over the harassment and threats he received online.
The YouTuber recently announced to his millions of fans that he and his wife, Ashley Ridgway, had taken the painful decision of terminating her pregnancy. The update led to massive outrage, with people telling him to “repent to God.”
“I’ve never seen such hate and vitriol for two people grieving the loss of their unborn child and making an impossible decision,” Jesse said in his statement.
Jesse Ridgway is speaking out again, feeling deeply disturbed over the recent harassment and threats
Image credits: JesseRidgwayMJN
Jesse Ridgway, who has 4.34M subscribers on YouTube, shared a video in May, excitedly announcing that they were expecting a child.
“It wasn’t an accident. We were trying. Pretty much as soon as we got married, she got off the pill,” an ecstatic Jesse told his viewers at the time.
Ashley quipped, “We were already running out of time for that ‘kid window.’”
Fast forward a few weeks, and the Ridgways announced to fans that they decided to terminate the pregnancy because their baby was diagnosed with Trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome.
Image credits: mcjuggernuggets
Image credits: McJuggerNuggets
“This has been extremely traumatic for both of us, especially Ashley,” Jesse wrote in a lengthy message shared on social media earlier this week.
His announcement was met with swift backlash, as many turned his deeply personal decision into a heated and contentious debate.
“You are a monster,” one commenter said. Another said, “If you can’t handle a disabled child, don’t have any children.”
Another wrote, “Just because Down syndrome offers some added inconveniences does not mean babies with Down syndrome should be legally ex*cuted.”
The YouTuber and his wife Ashley were slammed online for their decision to terminate her pregnancy
Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk/pexels (not an actual photo)
A heartbroken Jesse addressed the backlash, saying the previous 24 hours exposed him and Ashley to a “deeply disturbing” side of humanity.
“Being called ‘m*rderous pieces of sh*t, evil, compared to Hitler’ and receiving NON-STOP DE*TH THREATS,” he wrote on X.
The viral video-maker said even his 6-year-old dog, who is suffering from “stage 4 kidney disease,” was used as a “weapon.”
He said haters had been manipulating his words or claiming he would regret his decision for the rest of his life.
Some had been telling him to “repent to God,” which he felt was “absolute insanity.”
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“If you ever wanted to marvel at the depravity of people online, just check the replies on my latest tweet. It’s a sh*t-show of epic proportions,” he said. “This is reflective of the current world and landscape we’re all living in.”
“What’s more troubling is a lot of these people use God or Jesus as their justification for threatening us and wanting to cast us into Hell…seems pretty hypocritical,” he continued.
In the comments section of his post announcing the pregnancy termination, he said there were people claiming they would keep the child, put them up for adoption, or even include a child with Down syndrome in their family via adoption.
“That’s great!” he said. “You can do all those things.”
But he noted that most people “throwing stones” at them “don’t even have children, let alone one with a condition, and most likely will never do the things they say they’re going to do.”
Jesse said a lot of “trashy-a**” people with big fan followings have been saying a lot of “heinous” things about them
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Social media accounts belonging to “trashy-a**” people with big fan followings have been saying a lot of “heinous” things about him and Ashley, he added.
But he acknowledged that there have also been messages of staunch support amid the firestorm of hate.
Mothers have been messaging them privately, commending them for their bravery in being open about such a tough decision, he added.
Image credits: JesseRidgwayMJN
Around 73 million induced abortions take place across the world every year, and around 1,142,970 occurred in the US in 2024.
In cases where parents receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, the termination rates reportedly range from 67% to 85% in the US and 90% in the UK.
Babies born with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21, which affects the development of their bodies and brains, leading to physical and mental challenges.
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Down syndrome babies are likely to be born with a congenital heart defect and are at a higher risk for hearing loss, eye diseases, obstructive sleep apnea, and so on.
They also experience developmental challenges, thus taking longer to speak, walk, or perform other basic tasks in comparison to other children.
“The reason this blew up is quite simple: IT’S BECAUSE NOBODY TALKS ABOUT IT,” the content creator wrote
Image credits: mcjuggernuggets
Despite millions of abortions taking place worldwide every year, Jesse believes the reason his update “blew up” was simple.
“IT’S BECAUSE NOBODY TALKS ABOUT IT,” he wrote.
“I can’t blame people for not talking about these vulnerable experiences publicly because you see the disgusting backlash that ensues,” he continued. “It’s very divisive.”
The YouTuber didn’t seem to regret his decision to share the news of the termination with the world, believing that people “still need to see vulnerability and hear the raw truth.”
He also hoped that his story would inspire others to open up more and thanked people who were supporting him and Ashley through this difficult time.
“Also, my wife is a bad-a**. Not only did she go through this trauma, but she’s dealing with all the freaks on the Internet in stride,” he added. “Love you babe. Let’s look to the future!”
“This is MAGA. They are so full of hate it’s scary,” one netizen commented on Jesse’s recent message
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