Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez, younger brother of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is used to being near the spotlight — but last week, that light was weaponized. A TikTok user going by the handle Mamawendi4 (now a deleted account, thank the heavens) falsely claimed Gabriel was involved in a fentanyl trafficking ring. The video misidentified him as “Matthew,” which Gabriel swiftly and publicly shut down.
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“I’m the brother. My name’s not Matthew. I have no idea why they’re posting this,” Gabriel said in a TikTok response. “I work with the homeless. I have nothing to do with this story, which isn’t real. Please find something better to do with your time.”
@gabrielocasiocortez #stitch with @Mamawendi4 don’t make me sue
What could’ve been dismissed as online noise carried deeper implications. In a follow-up, Gabriel pointed to the very real danger of these conspiracies:
“That’s all it takes to start to get somebody that’s a little bit radicalised, somebody that’s willing to pick up their guns and go do something,” he warned. “And it wouldn’t be the first time somebody’s tried. That’s the society that we’re in, so things like this are just more serious than ever — and you can’t slander people.”
AOC’s Brother, But Very Much His Own Person
Gabriel grew up alongside Alexandria in a working-class Puerto Rican family that moved from the Bronx to Yorktown Heights when they were children. While his sister went into politics, Gabriel’s journey led him into the arts and mental health. He studied art psychotherapy at Long Island University in 2014 and has since carved out a path that’s equal parts activism and creative leadership.
These days, Gabriel works as a public outreach consultant and rehousing advocate for unhoused communities — a far cry from his earlier days in real estate.
“When my sister got elected, it did pull the carpet out underneath me, and at the time, I was a real estate broker,” he told Interview magazine. “I was very successful. I was really proud of the business that I had built, and when I nominated my sister for a Congressional bid to run, I remember thinking that I always knew she could do it.”
Where Art Meets Activism: The Deaf Collective
Gabriel’s own lived experiences have shaped his mission. He lives with single-sided deafness and tinnitus, and his work reflects an urgent desire to support communities often left out of the mainstream conversation. He founded the Deaf Collective, an arts and advocacy organization for the deaf queer community — a space that fuses activism with radical inclusivity.
The Politics of Truth (and Good Lighting)
An outspoken anti-capitalist, Gabriel doesn’t hold back when it comes to the flaws in America’s political machine. “The reality is that we need to get corporate money out of the election — out of elections, period,” he said in Interview. “You need to get corporate money out of politics altogether, and then people are actually going to see politicians running on actual stances that affect our communities because the communities are going to be the number one priority.”
His sister’s rise to national prominence gave him a glimmer of hope in a system he once had no faith in. “I never felt represented in government,” he admitted. “I have never felt cared about by the system. I never saw a cop that I trusted. There was nobody on the government payroll that gave me any type of joy, but once she got involved in politics, it was the first time I ever felt hope in the government. It’s one way I knew I was doing the right thing by supporting her.”
Queer Joy, Minus the Performance
Known for his signature style and rave-hosting alter ego, Gabriel has been described by The Cut as Alexandria’s “hot, gay, rave-hosting little brother.” But don’t let the cheekbones and nightlife resume fool you — he’s thoughtful about the emotional labor placed on queer people of color to constantly exude positivity.
“As queer people of colour, we are taught that in order to be palatable, we have to be outwardly joyful,” he told Interview. “We are more likely to be accepted and loved and integrated if we are on-demand quirky. These days, if I am having a bad day, I am going to tell you because telling you is going to make me feel like I am communicating.”
Yes, Cardi B Said It
And just for a little pop culture bonus: Cardi B once told Gabriel he looked like a young Marc Anthony. “Cardi told me I look like @MarcAnthony,” he shared on Instagram, with a pic of the two of them and a crying emoji. Honestly, she’s not wrong.
The Takeaway: Don’t Get It Twisted
Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez isn’t a headline, a scandal, or a sidekick. He’s a fierce advocate, a thoughtful disruptor, and a creative force — one whose existence challenges the systems that try to define or diminish people like him. False accusations may make the algorithm spin, but the truth? It raves on.
Source: MSN
Good for you Gabriel. ignore the ignorant haters, as hard as that is, and just keep on living your best life!
Didn’t even know she had a gay brother until now. A hot gay brother at that.