In mid-July 2025, a screenshot of an X post attributed to former Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz spread on the internet in which he allegedly wrote that being attracted to "newly pubescent girls" was "perfectly healthy." The screenshot was suspicious given that Gaetz has long been accused of sexual misconduct.
In the post, Gaetz supposedly wrote:
Momentary lapses in judgment from decades ago should not ruin the careers and reputations of the world's biggest movers and shakers. Attraction to newly pubescent girls is perfectly healthy and natural. Bury the Epstein files and let these men move on with their lives.
(Facebook user "Meg Marie")
We found no evidence of Gaetz having made the above post on his X account on July 13, 2025, or any other date, or of his ever having made such a statement elsewhere. Moreover, we found zero mentions of the post by any of the 1.5 million users who supposedly viewed it. Had Gaetz actually posted this, it would have been headline news. We found no news coverage of the post at all. Lastly, we couldn't find any archived pages proving that Gaetz ever made such a post. As such, we rate the screenshot as fake.
The timing of the fake post was suspicious, as President Donald Trump's Department of Justice had just announced in early July that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was facing charges of sex trafficking before he committed suicide in 2019, did not leave behind an incriminating "client list." That finding contradicted past statements from the administration and earned the ire of Trump supporters and conspiracy theorists who have long called for a release of the Epstein files.
In December 2024, a House committee investigation found "substantial evidence" that Gaetz violated laws "and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress." Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing. In a December 2024 post on X, he wrote:
In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated - even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court - which is why no such claim was ever made in court.
My 30's were an era of working very hard - and playing hard too.
It's embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.
In November 2024, Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration as Trump's attorney general nominee after federal investigators said they discovered payments he made to a number of women in exchange for sex.
This is not the first fake quote connected to Gaetz we've fact-checked. In 2024, we debunked an X post claiming Gaetz wrote he "almost never" dated teenagers.