‘Shame on Vivek!’ Amy Acton’s Brother Bashes Ramaswamy in Scathing Response to Critical Ad With Their Estranged Mom

Hours after her estranged mother ripped her in a viral video, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton (D) posted a new ad on Tuesday where her brother praised the progressive candidate for defending him when they were both abused as children.

Phil Stearns, Acton’s brother, also blasted her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy over the critical ad with their mom.

“Shame on Vivek,” Stearns said, while shaking his head in disgust. “The contempt he has for Amy is the contempt he has for Ohio. He’s not fit to lead.”

A moment earlier in the 30-second clip, Stearns said his sister did everything she could to protect him when they were younger.

“I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it,” Stearns said. “She continued to receive that abuse because she knew she had to protect from that, and that if she hadn’t done that, who knows where I would’ve ended up.”

As he spoke, the ad wrote in black-and-white that their stepfather physically and sexually abused Acton for years. It said both Acton and Stearns cut ties to their mom decades ago over it.

Acton’s new ad was a scathing response to the video featuring Donna Arthur, who claimed Acton was a “liar” and urged urged Ohioans not to vote for her.

Arthur ripped Acton for her repeated claims that she spent one winter living in a tent as a child in Ohio — a claim that is posted on Acton’s website and has been mentioned in several reports. But Arthur said her daughter’s story is bogus.

“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, it’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent — none of that is true,” Arthur said. “She’s lied her entire life.”

Arthur continued:

My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself. People can change, but first they have to tell the truth, and my daughter still isn’t doing that. Don’t vote for people who lie, don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself — it will only get worse.

The one minute video appeared to be a  campaign ad for Ramaswamy, though it never mentioned any political affiliation; a campaign spokesperson did not deny he was linked to the ad on Tuesday.

“We don’t know what happened between Amy and her mother, who first spoke out about Amy in 2020, but we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist who has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust as governor.”

Acton and Arthur’s estrangement has been covered in the local media before. A 2019 report from The Youngstown Vindicator said Acton was molested as a child by one of Arthur’s husbands, which spurred her to severe ties with her mom for good.

Here’s the key section of the report:

One guy finally hung around for marriage. That’s when Amy’s life got worse. She was between age 9 and 12.

The guy had accusations of molestation events in his past, she said. With his abuse of Amy, there was finally enough evidence that officials were called in and criminal charges were filed.

It was winter, and the family was living in a tent in a campground outside Youngstown.

“I was lucky that it got bad enough, because it got me out of there.”

She was finally able to move in with her dad and his relatives.

National Review followed up with a story on Tuesday saying Acton’s abuse claims were backed up by extensive legal documents.

“While Donna Arthur was married to Cledith Arthur in 1978 when Acton was 12 years old, Cledith Arthur was charged with having sexual contact with her, documents show,” the report said. “Evidence against him included a sworn statement from Acton’s biological father, and Acton herself was called to testify as a witness. Following his indictment by a grand jury, Cledith Arthur skipped town.”

Watch Acton’s ad above.

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