Kevin Sorbo (TV’s Hercules) would like us to think “Antifa” was responsible for the pro-Trump extremist mob that broke into the United States Capitol on Wednesday. Lucy Lawless (TV’s Xena) would like us to know Kevin Sorbo is a “peanut.”
Within hours of the riot—which left an extremist and an officer dead—Sorbo, a longtime Trump supporter, retweeted a photo of Not Jay Kay From Jamiroquai and a few others, perpetuating the conspiracy theory that left-wing anarchists were behind the attempted coup. “Do these look like Trump supporters? Or Leftist agitators disguised as Trump supporters…” Rogan O’Handley captioned the photo, which was flagged by Twitter as “manipulated media.” Sorbo amplified Handley’s post, adding “They don’t look like patriots to me...”
While Sorbo is correct, those men do not look like patriots, we all know what he meant—and Lawless wasn’t standing for it. “No, Peanut. They are not Patriots. They are your flying monkeys, homegrown terrorists, QAnon actors,” she responded. “They are the douchebags that go out and do the evil bidding of people like you who like to wind them up like toys and let them do their worst.”
Sorbo and Lawless reportedly have had a tense relationship since their iconic TV characters shared a universe in the 1990s, an apparent fact Lawless seems to have acknowledged Thursday when a fan tweeted, “I was just told by a friend who worked on Andromeda that Sorbo was constantly badmouthing @RealLucyLawless, and said her show only got more resources and attention because she was blowing the producer. Kev’s a classy guy AND (have you heard) a CHRISTIAN!” In reponse, Lawless tweeted, “HAHAHHAHAHHAAA!! oh, Peanuut! You slay me!”
Sorbo (and/or Trump supporters) began trying to discredit Lawless online by sharing that she (gasp!) was once arrested for protesting oil drilling. In turn, Lawless fans started sharing moments of grace they experienced from Lawless.
Ever the environmentalist, Lawless decided to use her moment of trending on Twitter to raise awareness about climate change: “But now to more serious matters: the earth needs us, people! @GretaThunberg is telling hard truths. Get behind a climate/habitat saving org. We can do it!”
Send Great Job, Internet tips to gji@theonion.com