The American politician John Fetterman suddenly became one of the Democrats’ new darlings a couple of years ago. Two years later, he managed to win the Senate election in Pennsylvania, but not without a lot of drama.
Last May he suffered a stroke and was close to death. In November he won the by-election against the TV doctor and Republican Mehmet Oz, but in February he admitted himself to a psychiatric hospital, as a result of severe depression.
On Monday, Fetterman was back in the Senate after receiving treatment for depression, but in the meantime, a sensational rumor emerged on social media.
Brutal election campaign: – Almost died
Double gangs?
In late March, users on Twitter began to speculate whether Fetterman has a so-called “body double” or a double.
One user compared two photos of Fetterman and suggested they were two different people. The post, which went viral and was viewed by over 10 million users, claimed the photos were taken three weeks apart.
GONE VIRAL: This tweet got over ten million impressions on Twitter. Screenshot: Twitter
sea view
In reality, both photos were of Fetterman and they were taken nine months apart, writes Philadelphia Inquirer.
One is a portrait photo from February that Fetterman shared on Twitter. The second was taken in May 2022 when he left Lancaster Hospital after suffering a stroke, the newspaper writes.
– It’s crazy
On Tuesday, he himself commented on the rumours.
– Thought it was time to address the rumor: I don’t have a double, wrote Fetterman on Twitter and added a video.
There he says he is back and feels 100 percent. With a twinkle in his eye, he dismisses the accusations.
– While I was in hospital, a rumor was started that I have a doppelganger. It’s crazy, it’s not true, he says before being interrupted by what is supposed to be his doppelganger in the video.
Spoken out
At the end of March, Fetterman left the hospital after admission and in an interview with CBS shortly afterwards he spoke about the difficult time.
– It will be the first time ever that I am on the road to recovery with my depression. And I can’t wait to see what it really feels like, to take it all in, and to start making up for lost time,” Fetterman said.
It is not uncommon for people who have had a stroke to struggle with depression in the time afterwards, writes The Guardian. And in January, people around Fetterman began to realize that something was wrong.
– I stopped leaving my bed. I stopped eating. I lost weight. I stopped engaging in a lot of the things I love in my life, Fetterman told CBS.
