Controversial Republican congressional candidate Brandon “AK Guy” Herrera said on a podcast that resurfaced last week that he wished COVID-19 had killed more fat people.
Herrera, a gun influencer who has millions of YouTube followers, made the remarks on Elijah Schaffer’s Slightly Offensive podcast on July 31, 2022, roughly a year before his first congressional run.
Meidas Touch, a progressive online outlet, resurfaced the clip on Friday.
The podcast started with a discussion of interracial dating. After the host said white men prefer to date white women over Black women, Herrera suggested that the data could be reflecting a preference against obesity.
“I wonder if they’re solving for all variables here. Because there’s also like an obesity epidemic in the female Black community,” Herrera said. “So, it’s like, OK, well, maybe … did you show them like 100 random Black women and they just maybe don’t like obese people?”
After another guest on the show went on a rant about fat women, Herrera offered his support, adding, “I’m of the opinion COVID wasn’t bad enough, because if you had something that just unfairly targeted fucking fat people, I’m here for it. I would have worn my mask nowhere on purpose.”
Obesity is a major comorbidity associated with an increased risk of severe and deadly COVID-19 outcomes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the the National Institutes of Health.
During the same interview, Herrera also called the majority of people in San Antonio ugly.
“Apparently, ugly people are the new minority,” another guest said on the same show.
“I live in San Antonio. They are not the minority,” Herrera responded.
Podcast host Schaffer then laughed and said, “San Antonio’s a very ugly city,” to which Herrera responded, “It’s not great.”
Herrera’s Democratic rival, Katy Padilla Stout, was quick to denounce the comments.
“The only thing ugly in San Antonio are the words coming out of this guy’s mouth,” Stout responded on X, formerly Twitter.
About 9% of the City of San Antonio’s population falls within District 23 after last summer’s redistricting, according to Meidas Touch. However, the district also includes the city’s western suburbs and exurbs, which aren’t included in that percentage.
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