An aesthetician hailing from Pennsylvania has been at the receiving end of nonstop hate and vitriol ever since she went viral for sitting next to Elon Musk during President Trump’s joint address at the Capitol.
Shortly after she was seen next to Musk, Heather Valentino became the subject of memes and while she did find it “funny at first,” things went overboard eventually affecting her personal and professional lives.
She’s Heather Valentino, an aesthetician from Wexford, Pennsylvania.
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Speaking to CNN, Heather Valentino said, “At first, it wasn’t much. It was funny at first. And then it changed. And then it became awful. My information was released. And then it was just nonstop. So, I’ve had reporters show up at my work. I’ve had reporters show up at my house. We’ve had the cops there. They’ve tried to get ahold of my family. My kids. They had to block their Instagram. It’s been a lot.”
When asked by host Kaitlan Collins whether she knew Elon Musk personally before the joint address at the Capitol, Valentino said, “No. No. It’s all quite ridiculous, actually. It was absolutely by chance.” She revealed that she wasn’t aware that she would be seated near the First Lady’s guest box, saying, “Not at all. It wasn’t till we started, like, sitting, and seating, that… I didn’t even realize that until everyone around me was, you know, telling me.”
Talking about the harassment and hate that she has been subject to since she went viral, Heather Valentino claimed that she was “immensely” affected by it, saying, “I haven’t been able to work. So, I haven’t gone back to work yet. It’s been quite awful. Quite awful for my clients. Quite awful for myself. Quite awful for the people that I work amongst with. And for my business. It hasn’t been good.”
Sharing her side of the story with the world, Valentino stated, “I did not know Elon Musk. There wasn’t flirting. I think we talked a couple of times. It was just… that’s the shots and that’s the videos that were aired and all the rest that I was talking to everyone else around me, those were not aired. And when I stood up with Elon Musk, I mean, I wasn’t going to stay seated. So, when everyone else got up, obviously I got up as well. It wasn’t like I was, you know, schmoozing or flirting. It wasn’t that at all.”
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Responding to the hate, Heather Valentino stressed that “they all just have the wrong view.” She added, “I was just someone that was, you know… I was excited to go to the State of the Union. Who wouldn’t be? And that’s just where I sat. So, that’s where I got seated, and you know, it was amazing, but, the backlash from just the seat is, you know… it’s ridiculous. And it’s awful. And it’s hurtful. To a lot of people. Not just myself.”
