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Who is Walter Masterson? Comedian pranks Matt Gaetz in viral video: 'You're a pedophile'

The video, shared on Twitter by Meidas Touch, captured the prank photo op that occurred over the weekend while Gaetz was in California

Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was tricked into posing for a photo op with a comedian and prankster who publicly pointed out that the representative had been accused of being a pedophile.

The incident occurred over the weekend on a California beach, while Gaetz was in the state with Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Video of the prank was shared on Twitter by Meidas Touch. "Oh, my God! I'm so excited," the man, later identified as comedian Walter Masterson, exclaimed to Greene in the video. "Everybody thinks you're crazy. I don't think you're crazy."

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Masterson, dressed in a shirt, shorts, and a hat with the American flag design, then turns to Gaetz as both of the Republicans pose with thumbs up and tells him, "People think you're a pedophile! I don't think you're a pedophile. I don't think you're a pedophile at all. The charges against him are totally false." Gaetz's smile quickly fades as he realizes that he is being pranked as Masterson is removed from the scene by a security guard.

Back in April, The New York Times reported that an investigation had been launched in the final months of the Donald Trump administration over whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with an underage girl and paid her to give him company while traveling. 

Who is Walter Masterson?

Masterson is a comedian and satirist. According to his LinkedIn profile, "My roots started with me acting in indie films. After accruing some tv and film credits I started to create my own projects. Actors always have a day job, and my day job is producing and writing."

The IMDB profile of the former content creator for Starz Digital says that he was born and raised in New York. He is also an aspiring actor who booked his very first audition for the featured role of Scott in 'L.I.E.' starring opposite Brian Cox, Paul Dano and directed by Michael Cuesta. The critically acclaimed film went on to garner AFI, Independent Spirit, Stockholm festival awards and a Sundance Film Festival nomination.

Walter went on to appear in 'Bomb the System', where he played his real-life graffiti high school alter-ago, Hyste, featuring a soundtrack by Def Jam's El-P. Walter starred alongside Melissa Leo as a young Puerto Rican revolutionary in the film 'I Believe in America.' He has had roles in shows like 'Sacred Games', 'Grand Slammed', 'The Vortex', 'The Last Days of April' and 'Trophy Kids.' The last project he is known to star in was as a series regular in the pilot for 'Lights Out', which was picked up by FX in 2011. 

After pulling the prank on Gaetz, he tweeted out his prank video, claiming responsibility with the caption, "I told Matt Gaetz he wasn’t a Pedophile and he disagreed." In a second video following the prank that Masterson posted on TikTok, he gleefully says, "Incredible. One of the worst performances of my career and they never doubted it for a second," panning the camera away from himself to point to Gaetz and Greene posing unfazed with more supporters. He has also begun capitalizing on his prank that has gone viral by selling merchandise. "The picture of Gaetz being called a Pedo while MTG cheers is so beautiful I made t-shirts," he wrote. 

Masterson also has pulled other pranks including crashing an anti-vaxxer rally and a critical race theory meeting in school. 

'The life got sucked right out of him'

The clip instantly went viral and people could not stop trolling Gaetz and Greene for not realizing that they were being pranked. "I think this clip is going to break Twitter," one of them said, while another quipped, "The life got sucked right out of him at this moment. ...but MTG is still pose'n." A third noted, "And three names had no clue!" The next commented, "If some guy walked up to me dressed like that I’d definitely assume he was up to something, but in this context he just blends right in." One of them added, "That was an EXTREMELY easy follow, like microseconds. Can’t wait to see what he does next."

A commenter tweeted, "Now, that got me laughing. Between her continued grin and mg's change of expression: priceless." One more said, "Bet that was the fastest $50 bucks that guy ever made." Another wrote, "I love how long it took Gaetz and Greene to clue in they were being punked. Not the sharpest knives in the block." One more remarked, "Notice how Matt's face changes when the dude mentioned 'pedophile.'" A person reacted with, "The life just drained from his face and fight or flight took over classic @waltermasterson is freaking awesome." One more said, "Matt was looking around like a guy just caught at a playground wearing a trench coat."