Kelly Stafford, who is the wife of Detroit Lions‘ quarterback Matthew Stafford, managed to get quite the rise out of people on social media after she referred to Michigan as a dictatorship.
Here is what Kelly said in a video posted to her Instagram story on Thursday.
“So I’m going to be very blunt: I’m so over it. I’m over living in a dictatorship that we call Michigan. I understand there’s a pandemic, and I understand it’s very scary. I’m scared of it too. If you are at risk, do not leave your house until there’s a vaccine.
“But shutting down all these small businesses — things that people have worked their life for — shutting them down again is not the answer, because they will not make it. So once we are able to leave our house, once this dictatorship decides to let us have some freedom, there will be nothing left.
“I’m just over it. I see all these people and it brings me, like, to tears. I — and believe me, I know there’s people out there that are stating, ‘That’s really ignorant of you. How could you say that?’ Listen, I know not everybody’s going to agree with me. Not everybody’s going to agree with my every move I make. That’s life, OK? We state our opinions, we move on.
This is my opinion. I feel for these small businesses. It’s not that I don’t feel for people that have COVID, or the hospitals. I do. But this is my opinion. I do not feel like — I do not like living in a place where they tell me what I can and cannot do. I live once. Again, this is my opinion. You have yours, everyone has their own, and we chalk it up to that.”
Not long after her initial video, Kelly was back on Instagram to “apologize” for her choice of words, saying they were said, “in the heat of the moment.”
Kelly Stafford apologizes for “I’m over living in a dictatorship that we call Michigan” comment on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/zkRBOZGbxL
— Don Drysdale (@DetroitLionsGM) November 19, 2020
Since those videos came out, fans have taken to social media with some defending Kelly and others bashing her.
https://twitter.com/russmove/status/1329582257657442305
https://twitter.com/dawn_macc/status/1329544931380084736
https://twitter.com/Richard47762643/status/1329510022469087233
https://twitter.com/Nugzutt/status/1329519964529848320
She's spot on, these poor businesses are being crushed by their own government. It's an outrage, now Whitmer is trying to claim authority for mass house arrests again?! For nothing.
Kelly Stafford Struggles Living in 'Dictatorship That We Call Michigan' https://t.co/aGzHwcVBoz
— CurtNorth (@curt_north) November 20, 2020
Kelly Stafford is entitled to her opinion, but calling Michigan a “dictatorship” is irresponsible. We have to sacrifice personal freedom to get this pandemic under control. The failure is our government has not adequately supported people enough to incentivize them not to work. https://t.co/b4ZrBRTYy1
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 19, 2020
LoL . . . Funny thing is Kelly Stafford is absolutely right about living in a dictatorship, in #Michigan . . . .
Problem is she's about a dime short & a decade late . .https://t.co/MOsQoG7XMc
— Anthony ☘️ (@michigansmoker) November 20, 2020
If Republicans like Kelly Stafford hadn't blocked sane COVID regulations to begin with, we wouldn't be where we are now: 250K dead, jobs lost, businesses shuttered.
She is the cause of the problem she rails against.
— Curious Cat Defends Democracy #BidenHarris2024 🟦 (@Cat4Democracy) November 20, 2020
