Instagram/Getty Claudia Conway and mother Kellyanne Conway.
Kellyanne Conway has been accused of posting a topless photo of her underage daughter, Claudia Conway, on social media. The image appeared on January 25 on Kellyanne Conway’s Twitter account using the Fleets feature, which automatically deletes posts after 24 hours. But screenshots of the image have circulated online.
Claudia confirmed in a since-deleted TikTok video that the picture was legitimate. But Claudia has also said she believes her mother would never have posted the picture online intentionally and speculated Kellyanne’s phone may have been hacked. Her father, George Conway, tweeted a link to one of Claudia’s TikTok videos in which she defended her mother.
Kellyanne Conway, a former counselor to then-President Donald Trump, has not publicly commented on the controversy. Twitter is investigating the posting, a spokesperson told Variety.
The topless photo is the latest scandal in the Conway family saga. As Heavy previously reported, police officers recently interviewed Kellyanne Conway after Claudia accused her mother of abusing her. The teen shared a video clip of the interview on TikTok.
Here’s what you need to know:
Claudia Conway Initially Accused Her Mother of Stealing the Topless Photo to Use as Blackmail
Claudia Conway after finding out from her TikTok followers that this photo was circulating on Twitter, part two:
Claudia Conway took to TikTok to share her reaction after she learned that the topless photo had been posted online. Those videos have since been deleted, but they were shared and still exist on social media. Twitter user @leahmcelrath shared two of Claudia Conway’s TikTok videos and they have been viewed more than 200,000 times combined. McElrath referred to the topless photo as child pornography and wrote that she hoped Claudia “gets the protection and support she deserves.”
In the first clip, Claudia Conway claims the picture was taken months earlier and confirms it is real. She explains, “I’m assuming that when my mom took my phone, anytime she’s taken it because she takes it all the time, she took a picture of that so that was on her phone.” Claudia speculates her mother shared the picture by accident or that Kellyanne’s phone was hacked.
Claudia insists she has never sent nude photos of herself to anyone. “Nobody would ever have any photo like that. Ever.” After a long pause, she adds, “So Kellyanne you’re going to f****** jail.”
The second clip begins with Claudia stating that she is “shaking” and unsure of what to do next. She included a caption urging followers to “please report it please” if they see the topless photo online. Claudia repeats her assertion that she never sent the photo to anyone and that it was only on her personal phone. “So I’m assuming that my mom took a picture of it to use against me one day and then somebody hacked her or something because there is no physical possible way that anybody would have that photo of me.”
Claudia also repeats that she believes her mother “deserves to go to jail. That’s unreal. She’s the only person who has it.”
The Teenager Says She Believes Kellyanne Conway’s Phone Was Hacked
Claudia Conway has said from the beginning of this latest controversy that she believed her mother’s phone was either hacked or that her mother shared the picture by accident. The teenager returned to TikTok on January 26 with four new videos in which she expressed remorse for the original videos in which she said she thought her mother deserved to go to jail.
Claudia asks her followers to stop calling law enforcement on her behalf. She also urges her followers against making threats against her family members, arguing that doing so puts her in danger as well.
In the new videos, Claudia insists that the message is coming directly from her and that she has not been forced to post them. In one of the clips, she explains her instant reaction: “Yesterday when I was made aware of the situation, I was distraught and very very upset and I acted irrationally and impulsively and it is something that I do regret. I know that my mom would never, ever, post anything to hurt me like that, intentionally and I do believe she was hacked.”
Claudia went on, “This isn’t forced and we all do things and say things we don’t mean in the heat of the moment and out of frustration and fear and anxiety and I’m sorry. It was not mature of me.”
Claudia Conway Says She & Her Mother Will Take a Break From Social Media to Work on Their Relationship
Claudia Conway also explains in her January 26 TikTok videos that she and her mother will both take a break from social media in order to focus on improving their relationship. The teen explains that she and Kellyanne Conway “fight like mothers and daughters” but that they love each other.
Claudia places some blame on social media for “exasperating” the tension between herself and her mother and apologizes for “making all of this public.” She insists in one video, “We would never intentionally try to hurt each other, especially not in the public eye.” She adds that she will not address the situation publicly again and that her family will work it out privately.
Claudia and Kellyanne Conway’s relationship has been in the public eye for many months. The teen has accused her mother of abusing her and blamed Kellyanne for infecting her with the coronavirus.
In August 2020, Claudia posted on Twitter about how she felt her mother’s job in the Trump administration had “ruined” her life and that she held different political views than both of her parents.
It was around this time that Claudia announced she was trying to gain emancipation from her parents. Claudia later clarified her reasoning in a Twitter post on August 23: “y’all love to twist everything 😭😭 i’m not getting emancipated because of my mom’s job. it is because of years of childhood trauma and abuse.”
The following day, Kellyanne Conway announced she was leaving her job at the White House in order to “devote more time to family matters,” NPR reported.
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