People online are being duped by the claim that Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who was recently picked as former President Donald Trump’s running mate, previously admitted to having sex with a couch.
Where the JD Vance-couch rumor began
The rumor, which isn’t true, first appeared on social media last week but didn’t start going viral until recent days. On July 15, a user on X alleged that Vance wrote in his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” that he once stuck his penis into “an inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions.”
The original post from the X account, which has since gone private, has been gaining steam. The claim comes from those who seem to think the rumor is genuine.
“In his dreadful novel, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ JD Vance described having sex with a rubber glove secured between cushions on his couch,” one user wrote. “Republicans chose him to be one heartbeat away from becoming POTUS. Voters in NC, the U.S. furniture capital, should be particularly horrified.”
The Vance couch memes
As the rumor became more prominent, so did the reactions. Countless memes related to Vance and his couch have been rampant online ever since.
Even those who were aware that the claim wasn’t true couldn’t help but join in on the meme-making. One such user shared a fabricated press release from Vance in which he pushed back on those criticizing his fondness for his couch.
“I reject and rebuke the scurrilous rumors circulating about me on X and other platforms,” the fake letter had Vance say. “Never in my life have I had sexual relations with a couch to completion. This is a life. Furthermore, I can assure you I haven’t had any bare-skin contact with a couch in over five years.”
One video mocking Vance and the false rumor about a relationship with his couch, set to the Barry White song “Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up,” has already been seen over 866,000 times on X.
Vance made no such admission in his book.
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