Getty Eric Swalwell after the MSNBC fart video went viral.
It was the fart heard around the world, so to speak. Or at least live on MSNBC. You can watch the viral video later on in this article. It’s been viewed millions of times.
Viewers heard someone… maybe Rep. Eric Swalwell, who had the misfortune of being on air at the time… let one rip, audibly, live, on the air. He says it wasn’t him. Some people think it was Chris Matthews. Or a sound guy. MSNBC is trying to get everyone to believe it was a coffee mug. What everyone seems to agree on, though, is that it sounded like a fart. Yes, it’s come to this.
The jokes flew. “I’ve analyzed the MSNBC fart video and I believe there was a second farter on the gassy knoll,” wrote one Twitter user. “trying to blame the obvious fart on a mug has severely undermined msnbc’s credibility imho,” wrote another. “I AM FARTACUS,” said another joking tweet.
Swalwell was appearing on MSNBC’s Hardball show. The show responded to the controversy, writing on Twitter, “Sorry to disappoint the conspiracy theorists – it was the #hardball mug scraping across the desk. Get yours today and let’s get back to the news!”
Sorry to disappoint the conspiracy theorists – it was the #hardball mug scraping across the desk. Get yours today and let’s get back to the news! t.co/SG8Owm2IBw
“TOTAL EXONERATION!” Swalwell tweeted in response.
Lots of people don’t believe it, though. Judge for yourself. Here’s the video:
Eric Swalwell appears to drop a massive fart during live on television
Turn the sound on, this is real
The words, “Impeachment hearings, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Intelligence Committee” blared seriously on the screen. “Chris, so far the evidence is uncontradicted that the president used taxpayer dollars to ask the Ukrainians to help him cheat (fart) an election,” he said.
Here’s what you need to know:
In a Text to Buzzfeed, Swalwell Adamantly Denied That He Was the Deliverer of the Fart
A text I never thought I’d send
A small smile appeared to creep onto Swalwell’s face during the fart. That’s pretty suspicious, many people think. However, the Congressman responded to a text from Buzzfeed denying he was the culprit. “It was not me!!!!!” he wrote Buzzfeed. “Ha. And I didn’t hear it when I was speaking…It’s funny tho.”
Some people didn’t believe the #fartgate denial (he who smelt it, dealt it?), and they took it to great lengths. One slo-mo video shows Swalwell’s chin tip slightly upward as the fart is heard.
So after @ericswalwell denied responsibility for the fart on MSNBC, we asked our audio expert to review the tape, he concluded that it’s definitely his and his alone, he even provided us with the audio waves.
The responses on Twitter were almost as colorful as the video:
“This MSNBC fart video is making my nine-year old SO HAPPY.”
“Any word on who smelt the MSNBC fart first?”
“Proof MSNBC will lie about absolutely everything. #fartgate #fakenews.”
“Can someone fart at the #ImpeachmentHearings today so people will pay attention to that instead of whatever @ericswalwell did or did not do on MSNBC yesterday.”
“Unbelievable Swalwell and MSNBC even lie about farts. They want us to believe we didn’t hear what we heard and in the case of the phone transcript they want us to hear what we didn’t hear.”
“The only honest thing on MSNBC in the last 5yrs was Swallwell’s fart.”
Some people took things way too seriously:
“ABC covering up for epstein,” wrote one Twitter user. “CNN covering up fake impeachment. MSNBC covering up eric swalwell fart.”
READ NEXT: Guards Charged in Connection With Jeffrey Epstein’s Death.