Mequon-Thiensville School Board candidate, Kleefisch campaign team member deletes tweets on white supremacy, transgender issues
Alec Johnson
Scarlett Johnson — a candidate in the Mequon-Thiensville School Board recall election and a member of former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch's gubernatorial campaign team — posted tweets in recent years that suggested she isn't worried about white supremacy, called Planned Parenthood a white supremacist group, and asked "how many gay men want to date men with vaginas?"
Since 2019, Johnson has tweeted a number of comments regarding transgender issues, white supremacy and other topics related to race and gender, according to screenshots of the since-deleted tweets shared with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Johnson deleted her Twitter account altogether on Monday after the Journal Sentinel asked questions about her past tweets.
Johnson is one of four candidates — along with Kris Kittell, Charles Lorenz and Cheryle Rebholz — running against four incumbent school board members in the Nov. 2 recall election. She was named to Kleefisch's leadership team earlier this fall.
In tweets from 2020, Johnson said "yeah, the threat of white supremacy keeps me up at night..." next to a picture of a yawning sloth. She also tweeted "there exists no white supremacist group in the history of America that has taken more Black lives than Planned Parenthood."
Johnson said in a phone interview that being Puerto Rican, she is not a white supremacist.
"I hate that I have to give you all these credentials. It's very hard to prove a negative. Very hard to prove I'm not a white supremacist, but considering I have ethnic, curly hair, very dark skin, I'd probably not be a very good white supremacist," Johnson said.
She said Planned Parenthood, which provides free health care, birth control and abortions, "targets Black women for abortion" by providing services in poorer communities in addition to wealthier communities.
Johnson said in a followup email she did not mean to demean those who experience racism and that she did not want to minimize it.
"I certainly experienced racism in my life and it is humiliating, though it didn’t define me. I am from another time, I do understand that fact and I know I must be respectful of my ancestors for whom white supremacy was a real threat. However, their enduring sacrifice, and that of so many before me has led us to a brighter future that I want my children to embrace," Johnson said.
"What unites us is so much more powerful than what divides us. As a Hispanic woman in 2021 I am less afraid of white supremacy and far more afraid of tribal identity politics that seek to tear this country apart at the seams and wreck havoc on the well-being of our children," Johnson said.
On her tweet about transgender men, Johnson said she doesn't believe in shaming someone for not being attracted to transgender men.
Johnson also said she has gay family members, and that she supports gay marriage.
Spokesmen for Kleefisch did not answer questions about what Kleefisch thought of the comments.
“Liberals are digging up old tweets and resorting to left-wing smear tactics because they know they’re wrong on the issues and are desperate to maintain the status quo that has left our children behind. Rebecca won’t play these political games, and will continue to support concerned parents who want to take back control of their children’s education,” said an email from Kleefisch's campaign.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.