Patton Oswalt is an intense critic of President Trump. Michael Beatty is an intense supporter of President Trump. The comedian and the 64-year-old clashed on Twitter, as would be expected of two people with those opposing views, but the result of their spat didn’t end like most social media beefs.
First off, Patton Oswalt tweeted this poem about the President (some inflammatory language). It wasn’t kind.
Beatty dove into Oswalt’s replies and referred to him as a “sawed-off little man” and trolled him with the line: “I just realized why I was so happy you died in Blade Trinity!” (Sick burn, Mike.)
Oswalt fired back, but then he looked through Beatty’s timeline. Beatty had just returned from a two-week stay in the hospital. He had fallen into a coma from complications with diabetes and sepsis. The comedian changed his tack.
He tweeted, “Aw, man. This dude just attacked me on Twitter and I joked back but then I looked at his timeline and he’s in a LOT of trouble health-wise. I’d be pissed off too. He’s been dealt some s***** cards — let’s deal him some good ones. Click and donate — just like I’m about to. https://t.co/6zRdZ430WG”
Oswalt found a GoFundMe for Beatty’s hospital bills. The amount sat at barely $600. Oswalt dropped $2,000 into the campaign and then asked his followers to help. As of Thursday evening, the comedian’s efforts have raised over $20,000.
Beatty was blown away, telling the Washington Post: “I would never have [imagined this] based on what I tweeted to him. If anything, I expected a scathing retort or just to be ignored, but that’s not what happened.”
I want to thank everyone who came to my aid with generous outpourings- and also to @pattonoswalt without whom I would not be the recipient of so much love and support. I’m not a man who ever cries but I had to wait to send this. And to quote Stuart on Big Bang “meat tonight”! pic.twitter.com/r4Kc9zYk7E
— Michael Beatty (@MichaelBeatty) January 24, 2019
Amid a week that’s seen Twitter come under intense scrutiny for its prevalent abuse and harassment, it’s been nice to see the platform used for a little bit of good.
