Kyle Rittenhouse, a man who previously was acquitted of the murder of two people and injury of a third following his shooting spree in 2020, has left social media in chaos with a very strange statement about sexual orientation.
The 23-year-old first made headlines in 2020 for shooting three people at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, US.
After two of the three people he shot died, Rittenhouse was charged by Kenosha County prosecutors with multiple criminal counts, including homicide, but was acquitted in November 2021.
The young adult has been in the news recently, and neither instance has been positively received by the public.
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The first case was when he announced his marriage, having posted an image of him and his new wife, Bella Nelson Rittenhouse, posing with guns and assault rifles for their wedding shoot.
Rittenhouse also revealed his new wife was the reason he came back to social media after an extended break due to his legal case and public division over his lack of sentencing.
“My wife looked me in the eye and said, 'If you’re going back, I’m with you'.” wrote Rittenhouse in an X post. “So I’m back. Not quietly. Not halfway. I’m coming back in a big way.”
While people had mixed feelings on his marriage and his return to social media, it appears as if the consensus is fairly leaning in one way for his latest controversy.
Rittenhouse has been met with critisism for claiming that the fluoride in drinking water is 'making people gay', and urging people to 'drink clean water'.
His statement, posted on social media, has led to experts calling out the misinformation.
On 9 January, he wrote on X: “Prove me wrong. The fluoride in our water is making people gay. Drink clean water.”
Health authorities have since said there is no evidence linking fluoride to sexual orientation, and that public health research determines that .07 miligrams per litre in the US prevents tooth decay.
Health agencies like the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, have debunked the claim, as social media users react to the post.
One person wrote: “But I grew up on well water? " as another said: “The kid isn't right in the head.”
Someone else commented: “Dude, we all know you’re an idiot. You don’t have to convince us anymore.”
Gaystarnews even reposted the story of his claims, writing: “Kyle girl you silly goose! You’re making us thirsty!”
But not everyone disagreed with him.
One commenter online replied, ‘bingo’ to his theory, as another said: “It's the atrazine but yes its the water.”
A community note attached to the post highlighted the theory being false, and linking out to the CDC for further reading.
And per a 2020 study, 'plasma fluoride is related to lower testosterone and estradiol in male adolescents', but does not impact sexual orientation.
Topics: US News, Crime, Social Media
Britt Jones