Nurse raises nearly $30,000 after viral Karoline Leavitt comments - Newsweek

A pregnant White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt received replaced comments from a viral TikTok video, where a nurse wished her severe childbirth injuries. The nurse, Alexis Lawler, was fired from her job in Florida after her comments drew widespread criticism and her license was suspended by the state's medical authorities. Lawler has raised nearly $30,000 on a GoFundMe to fund her legal defense, claiming her remarks were protected political speech.

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Nurse raises nearly $30,000 after viral Karoline Leavitt comments - Newsweek

The nurse, who was fired and told she could no longer practice nursing in Florida after her viral comments on TikTok wishing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt severe childbirth injuries, has raised almost $30,000 on a GoFundMe page.

Leavitt had announced over Christmas that she is pregnant with her second child, a baby girl, in a post on Instagram. She said the baby is due in May.

"My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can’t wait to watch our son become a big brother. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth," Leavitt wrote. "I am also extremely grateful to President Trump and our Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for their support, and for fostering a pro-family environment in the White House. 2026 is going to be a great year and I am so excited to be a girl mom!"

What Did Alexis Lawler Say About Karoline Leavitt?

Alexis "Lexie" Lawler, from Boca Raton, posted a video on TikTok in January that went viral, which appears to have since been removed from her account.

In the video, she can be heard saying, according to recordings of the video circulating on X: "As a labor and delivery nurse, it gives me great joy to wish Karoline Leavitt a fourth-degree tear. I hope that you f****** rip from bow to stern and never s*** normally again, you c***."

A LinkedIn page that has been linked with Lawler, showed a woman who was an obstetrics and gynecology nurse at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital, although it has since been taken down from the platform.

After sharing the video, she was hit with significant backlash from social media users online, and according to a video posted on X, Lawler responded to the criticism in another video saying: "So they just murdered a man in Minnesota, they murdered a man in Minnesota and you motherf****** are coming after me because I use bad language? F*** you! I'm on the right side of this."

What Happened To Alexis Lawler After She Posted The Video?

Republican Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said in January that he was "in touch with hospital leadership as soon as I learned this afternoon and have been informed that this person is no longer employed there."

"These disgusting comments have no place in medicine or in our community," he added.

Baptist Health South Florida later said in a statement shared with the X account @libsoftiktok, which has 4.6 million followers, that Lawler was "no longer employed by our health system."

Baptist Health South Florida said the comments she made in the video "do not reflect our values or the standards we expect of health care professionals."

The health care system added: "While we respect the right to personal opinions, there is no place in health care for language or behavior that calls into question a caregiver's ability to provide compassionate, unbiased care."

At the end of the month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an emergency suspension of her license, meaning that Lawler was "no longer allowed to practice nursing in Florida."

"Making statements that wish pain and suffering on anyone, when those statements are directly related to one's practice, is an ethical red line we should not cross. I'm proud of @FLSurgeonGen for taking this decisive action," he wrote on X.

He had also written on X in an earlier post: "Being fired isn’t good enough. Any health care worker who fails to uphold his or her obligation to provide adequate, safe health care should not be licensed in Florida."

How Much Has Lawler Raised on GoFundMe?

After the emergency suspension of her license, Lawler reportedly asked a Florida appeals court to overturn the state's ruling, on the basis her off-duty comments were protected political speech, according to local news outlet CBS12.

In an effort appearing to raise funds for this "legal defense," the GoFundMe page was set up to help Lawler "push back against: retaliation, silencing, weaponized outrage, corporate cowardice and government overreach."

"Funds go toward employment and civil rights counsel so Lexie can defend herself without being financially bullied into silence," the site reads.

While Lawler was hit with a significant level of criticism online for her comments, she has received a notable amount of support on the GoFundMe page.

As of Friday morning, the page had raised more than $29,000, nearing its target of $35,000. The top donation, which came from was anonymous user, was $500.

"Lexie Lawler was fired for political speech," the site reads. "She is a liberal woman who used her personal social media—on her own time—to sharply criticize a public figure tied to a cruel, harmful administration. Her words were blunt, angry, and unapologetic. They were directed at power, not her workplace. That speech was lawful."

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Filed under: Attacks on Democracy

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