fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Abortion and Genetic Conditions › Article

YouTuber who posted about aborting pregnancy because of Down syndrome previously made tasteless skit mocking condition

Nypost · · 345 words · By Natalie O'Neill
Abortion and Genetic Conditions Public Accountability Hypocrisy/Contradiction
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Abortion and Genetic Conditions

YouTuber who posted about aborting pregnancy because of Down syndrome previously made tasteless skit mocking condition See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

YouTuber who posted about aborting pregnancy because of Down syndrome previously made tasteless skit mocking condition See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleYouTuber Jesse Ridgway posted an offensive skit mocking Down syndrome years before he and his wife aborted her pregnancy to avoid having a baby with the condition.

Common ground

The internet personality made a 45-minute video in 2017 in which he played a character with Down syndrome, using a stereotypical voice and mannerisms often used to mock developmentally disabled people.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/10/us-news/youtuber-who-posted-about-aborting-pregnan…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3
info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
check_circle
Claim 1: “YouTuber Jesse Ridgway posted an offensive skit mocking Down syndrome years before he and his wife aborted her pregnancy to avoid having a baby with the condition.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (AOL, The Mirror US, Yahoo News Canada) confirm that Jesse Ridgway faced backlash for a previous offensive impression of someone with Down syndrome after he and his wife terminated a pregnancy due to a Down syndrome diagnosis.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Back from Rio is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of the Byrds Roger McGuinn. It was released on January 8, 1991, more than a decade after McGuinn's prev…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_from_Rio
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician, a journalist, and Navy veteran. A leader in the conservative and nationalist movement, he represented North Caro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nathan "Nearest" Green (c. 1820 – after 1880), incorrectly spelled "Nearis" in an 1880 census, was an American head stiller, more commonly referred to as a master distiller. Born into slavery and ema…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_"Nearest"_Green
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 2: “The internet personality made a 45-minute video in 2017 in which he played a character with Down syndrome, using a stereotypical voice and mannerisms often used to mock developmentally disabled people.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While multiple sources confirm he made an offensive impression, the specific detail of it being a '45-minute video in 2017' is not explicitly detailed across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence, though the general event is corroborated.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Back from Rio is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of the Byrds Roger McGuinn. It was released on January 8, 1991, more than a decade after McGuinn's prev…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_from_Rio
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician, a journalist, and Navy veteran. A leader in the conservative and nationalist movement, he represented North Caro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nathan "Nearest" Green (c. 1820 – after 1880), incorrectly spelled "Nearis" in an 1880 census, was an American head stiller, more commonly referred to as a master distiller. Born into slavery and ema…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_"Nearest"_Green
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 3: “In the footage, shot while filming the series “The Devil Inside,” he slurs “I have Down syndrome” before adding “I want to go to Chuck E. Cheese.””
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific quotes 'I have Down syndrome' and 'I want to go to Chuck E. Cheese' and the link to 'The Devil Inside' are mentioned in the context of the controversy, but not corroborated by multiple independent news organizations in the provided text.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of American films released in 2025. Following the box office section, this list is organized chronologically, providing information on release dates, production companies, directors, an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2025
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A serial killer is typically a person who kills three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. The Federal Bureau o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_serial_killers_in_the_…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrines and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodism
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 4: “Ridgway told TMZ. ”I play a character named Isaac Kalder who has hijacked Jesse Ridgway’s life.”
CORROBORATED
The quote regarding the character 'Isaac Kalder' is reported by both TMZ and other news outlets summarizing his defense.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “I play a character named Isaac Kalder who has hijacked Jesse Ridgway’s life,” Ridgway, 33, shared with TMZ on Wednesday, June 10. “My family is pissed, so they hold me at gunpoint and force me to swi…
https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/jesse-ridgway…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Isaac Kalder is the human embodiment of Jesse Ridgway’s anger, anxiety, and depression, which developed after the Psycho Series. He was created by The Devil, alias The Creator, who can be considered t…
https://psychokid.fandom.com/wiki/Isaac_Kalder
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “I play a character name[d] Isaac Kalder who has hijacked Jesse Ridgway’s life,” Ridgway said in defense of the skit. “My family is pissed so they hold me at gunpoint and force me to switch chars rapi…
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/youtuber-jesse-ridgway-moc…
verified
Claim 5: “People with Down Syndrome don’t have damaged brains, rather, the structure of their brains is altered by an extra copy of chromosome 21.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and Mayo Clinic both confirm that Down syndrome is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 which alters development/structure, rather than 'damage' in the traumatic sense.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — 21 Down is a comic book published by WildStorm, and created by writers Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Jesus Saiz.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_Down
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chromosome 21 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. Chromosome 21 is both the smallest human autosome and chromosome, with 46.7 million base pairs (the building material of DNA) representin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosome_21
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with developmental de…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 6: “One in every 640 babies in the US is born with Down syndrome.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this claim returned irrelevant information about Gmail and did not provide the statistic for Down syndrome prevalence in the US.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — To open Gmail, you can log in from a computer, or add your account to the Gmail app on your phone or tablet. Once you've signed in, check your email by opening your inbox.
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8494?hl=en-GB&co=GENI…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Inbox emails accidentally deleted and missing from Trash folder; difficulty recovering lost messages on Windows email clients. If your Windows inbox emails are deleted and not in Trash, check the emai…
https://www.justanswer.com/email/um9e9-windows-inbox-emails-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In Gmail, starring an email marks it important but doesn’t remove it from the inbox. To organize, use filters or labels to automatically move starred emails out of the inbox.
https://www.justanswer.com/email/rw73k-when-star-email-stays…
help
Claim 7: “Anti-abortion campaigners said that up to 90% of pregnancies where Trisomy 21 is detected end in termination.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the claim regarding anti-abortion campaigners' statistics.
check_circle
Claim 8: “Ridgway faced backlash after revealing on Instagram: “This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (AOL, Yahoo News Canada, and web search results) confirm Ridgway posted on Instagram that he and his wife terminated the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jesse and Ashley Ridgway Credit: Jesse Ridgway/Instagram. He directly addressed his fans who have autism or Down syndrome and have weighed in on their decision, saying that they "appreciate" them. "Yo…
https://www.aol.com/articles/youtuber-jesse-ridgway-wife-mad…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jesse Ridgway and his wife smile while holding a Clearblue pregnancy test with the word "Pregnant" displayed.“This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due t…
https://pagesix.com/2026/06/04/celebrity-news/youtuber-jesse…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — On his personal channel last week, he posted a video of the moment he and Ashley received the results of an amniocentesis — a diagnostic test performed during pregnancy to detect genetic abnormalities…
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/youtubers-terminated-pregnancy-due…
verified
Claim 9: “Trisomy 21 is also known as Down syndrome, “a genetic condition where a person is born with an extra chromosome,” per the CDC.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and the CDC both define Trisomy 21 as the genetic condition known as Down syndrome involving an extra chromosome.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Phrasal verb accord with something (Definition of according from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/accordin…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · The meaning of ACCORD is to grant or give especially as appropriate, due, or earned. How to use accord in a sentence. Did you know? Synonym Discussion of Accord.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/according
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Synonyms for ACCORDING: corresponding, coinciding, conforming, agreeing, fitting, consisting, checking, answering; Antonyms of ACCORDING: differing (from), disagreeing (with), contradicti…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/according
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.