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American politician Matt Gaetz and Reacher star Alan Ritchson may have grown up side-by-side in Florida, but the two have sparked a recent internet battle after the actor called the politician a "motherf**ker." Ritchson infamously referred to Gaetz in his now-viral GQ interview, published on February 19, 2025, as "That motherf**ker. We are adversaries."
Now, the former US representative for Florida's 1st congressional district slammed the actor and former schoolmate in Niceville for his "adversaries" comment. In both his personal and professional accounts on X on Thursday, February 20, 2025, he called out the Reacher star, implying how Hollywood fame has changed him. He wrote:
"Hollywood apparently changes people! Alan was a year behind me in high school and we were both on the Speech and Debate Team. We were not "adversaries" as I won debate championships and Alan did more acting stuff."
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Gaetz also walked down memory lane, noting an anecdote with Ritchson's older brother, Eric, whom Gaetz said "won more often" compared to the actor. He also referenced the time he and Alan Ritchson were still in high school, saying that the latter "was always very nice" to him and everyone, further trying to paint a picture of how the actor supposedly changed.
He went on to recall how intertwined his past with Ritchson was, noting that he was invited by the actor's mother to his father's retirement party from the Air Force at a karaoke bar. Gaetz recalled the celebration where he sang Centerfold and Ritchson's father sang Sittin on the Dock of the Bay.
Read more: When Alan Ritchson revealed the biggest fear he had while portraying Jack Reacher
Matt Gaetz further accuses Alan Ritchson of trying to "get Hollywood attention"
In his professional accounts on X, Gaetz doubled down in dismissing Ritchson's claims of rivalry. In his February 20 tweet, the ex-politician put down the Blue Mountain State actor's recent comments about him as his way of trying to court attention instead of any real hostility. He wrote:
"Spoiler alert: We were not adversaries. He's just trying to get Hollywood attention (but not just with the steroids)."
He shared another anecdote about the actor's mom, whom he said was wonderful, not allowing him to read the Ken Starr Report in 1998 in the NHS computer lab.
Read more: Is there going to be a new Reacher spinoff series on Amazon?
What else did Alan Ritchson say about Matt Gaetz?
Matt Gaetz's recent X rants about Alan Ritchson came after the latter's GQ interview, which was published on February 19, 2025. He talked about many things, including his new show and about Gaetz. The article noted that the mere mention of the former politician's name has put "a change" into the actor, who was quoted saying:
"It's shocking to me that the panhandle of Florida continues to vote for somebody—knowing everything we know about him and the promises he's made behind closed doors about pardoning certain criminals."
He further said that Gaetz is "not a good dude," and that there's a part of him that wants to enter politics simply to "outdo" somebody like Gaetz "for good." But he admitted that he wasn't "duplicitous enough" to make a successful career in politics.
Alan Ritchson's Reacher, which has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, is back for a third season on Prime Video as of February 20, 2025, with new episodes releasing every Thursday.
