UCF student's mom turns son into unwilling #HimToo meme

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – With a single tweet from his mom, a University of Central Florida student was thrown into an anti- #MeToo movement becoming the unwilling face of the #HimToo social media campaign.

Pieter Hanson, a Navy Veteran, told The Washington Post he was in the middle of an exam at UCF when his phone started blowing up with notifications.

Hanson soon learned that his mom had posted side-by-side photos of her Navy veteran son in uniform, writing “This is MY son. He graduated #1 in boot camp. He was awarded the USO award. He was #1 in A school. He is a gentleman who respects women. He won’t go on solo dates due to the current climate of false sexual accusations by radical feminists with an axe to grind. I VOTE. #HimToo.”

The hashtag HimToo was circulating on social media recently in response to the number of sexual assault allegations against officials, including now confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Hanson told the Post, the #HimToo movement does not represent his views. His mother later deleted the tweet and her account under the username BlueStarNavyMom3, but not before the internet had its say. Social media users took Hanson's mother's tweet and created their own, some in support of #HimToo, but many more poking fun at the original tweet.

Hanson created a Twitter account, which quickly earned close to 19,000 followers in 14 hours, to respond to the backlash.

"That was my Mom. Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realizing it. Let’s turn this around. I respect and #BelieveWomen,' Hanson tweeted. "I never have and never will support #HimToo. I’m a proud Navy vet, Cat Dad and Ally. Also, Twitter, your meme game is on point."

Hanson has since started using his internet fame for good causes, such as raising awareness for the Make a Wish Foundation, non-Hodgkin lymphoma research and posting pictures of his two cats, Chalupa and Monkey.