(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A social media influencer with millions of followers went viral Wednesday, but not for the usual reason. Instead, Jesse Ridgway and his wife drew widespread criticism after announcing they had aborted their unborn child following a Down syndrome diagnosis.
The backlash against Ridgway, also known online as “McJuggerNuggets,” erupted after he posted an oddly written statement on X in which he appeared to compare Down syndrome to “a glitch.”
Many critics were disturbed by Ridgway’s impersonal tone in the statement, which focused largely on his and his wife’s feelings. He offered virtually no reflection on the unborn child’s life.
“This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21,” Ridgway wrote. He later said the decision was driven by concerns about the perceived challenges associated with raising a child with Down syndrome.
“Trisomy 21, also known as Down Syndrome, is caused by an extra chromosome. It is caused by an error in cell division, like a glitch. The odds of a baby having it is 1 in 1000,” the YouTuber said.
Ridgway previously announced the diagnosis in a video published May 27.
In a follow-up post on X, Ridgway responded to the backlash by saying he and his wife had been “grieving the loss of their unborn child and making an impossible decision.”
“The last 24 hours have exposed a side of humanity that is deeply disturbing. Being called ‘murderous pieces of shit, evil, compared to Hitler’ and receiving NON-STOP DEATH THREATS,” he added.
I’ve never seen such hate and vitriol for two people grieving the loss of their unborn child and making an impossible decision.
The last 24 hours have exposed a side of humanity that is deeply disturbing. Being called “murderous pieces of shit, evil, compared to Hitler” and…
— Jesse Ridgway (@McJuggerNuggets) June 5, 2026
On X, critics shared photos of their own children with Down syndrome, arguing that such children are blessings rather than burdens.
