Who is Quentin Quarantino? Memer raises $700K for Planned Parenthood in fundraiser to mock Rush Limbaugh
Quentin Quarantino, a meme maker, became popular for his memes calling out the hypocrisy of pro-lifers and anti-maskers. The page was born when the country first went into lockdown as Marcus began chronicling American Covid-19 culture. Marcus promised to post a meme every 30 minutes until the 14-day lockdown was over -- though, the lockdown continued for longer than that. Marcus' memes got political and the latest one is ruffling a few feathers.
When Marcus learned that conservative political commentator and radio personality Rush Limbaugh had died, he donated $100 to Planned Parenthood in Limbaugh's memory. From there began a movement. He turned the post where he posted a screenshot of his donation into a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood. He hoped it could raise $10,000. At the time of writing, the fundraiser has raised over $700,000 for Planned Parenthood.
RELATED ARTICLES
Who is Quentin Quarantino aka Tommy Marcus?
Quentin Quarantino is the screen name of Tommy Marcus, a 25-year-old University of Michigan graduate based in New York City. According to his interview with Contra Post, he adopted his screen name from his second favorite director, Quentin Tarantino. "‘Wes Quaranderson’ doesn’t rhyme as well as ‘Quentin Quarantino.'"
Marcus began posting memes when the Covid-19 lockdown started in March 2020 and made a pledge to post a meme every 30 minutes for every day of the then-14-day lockdown. However, when the lockdown did not end and sentiments doubting masks and the veracity of Covid-19 began taking over the news, Marcus felt he had to use his page to call it out.
He began posting on Fox News and conservative politicians' comments on the pandemic. In one Instagram comment, he called out Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst for posting a photo of herself getting the vaccine after she had suggested doctors were falsifying the Covid-19 death toll for profit.
The fundraiser
Marcus told Vice on the experience, "It was really an experiment, and the results have been unbelievable." He added, "It’s really cool to see that such a polarizing figure and such a bitter history of Rush Limbaugh could inspire such a constructive and meaningful thing.”
"Rush Limbaugh has been someone who’s spent decades clogging the airwaves with sexist, homophobic, racist, endlessly discriminatory propaganda," Marcus told VICE, singling out Limbaugh's track record of mocking AIDS and those who died from it as particularly offensive. Marcus said, "He is really, to me, the embodiment of Trump’s America, of hatred, of the division that we see in our country right now.”
Marcus has also taken to sharing messages he has received from followers who have appreciated his fundraiser. One follower wrote, "I'm in absolute awe of the money that you're raising for Planned Parenthood. I found out that I had stage 3 cervical cancer during a routine pap smear at one of their clinics. They referred me to an oncologist and after undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, I am now 7 years cancer free. They literally saved my life. Thank you for doing what you're doing."
Another follower wrote to Marcus, "As a survivor of sexual assault, waking up the past few days to see your fundraiser for Planned Parenthood has literally made my week. My backward ass, impoverished southern state of South Carolina literally just passed a "Heartbeat Bill" total ban on abortion. During a pandemic, that is raging out of control in our state because no one believes in science, this was the legislation they decided to pursue."
The message continued "You rock for doing this, the fundraiser could quite literally put another Planned Parenthood in a state like mine where especially women in poverty struggle to even find affordable access to healthcare."
Limbaugh died on Wednesday, February 17, after a long battle with advanced lung cancer. The long-time host of the 'Rush Limbaugh Show' learned he had a 'terminal diagnosis' of Stage IV lung cancer last year in January. His wife, Kathryn Limbaugh, made the announcement at the beginning of the radio program on February 17.