Scott Baio’s wife has come under fire after she wrote a shockingly vicious message to the mother of a Sandy Hook victim.
Nelba Marquez-Greene, whose daughter, Ana Grace, six, died in the 2012 massacre, got into a tussle with Renee Baio over the weekend after the Happy Days actor retweeted a meme claiming the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary were a hoax.
In response, Baio told Marquez-Greene: ‘I’m sorry 4 your loss @Nelba_MG however, maybe your children are in a better place. Your ugliness knows no bounds!!’
Shocking: Renee Baio (left, with husband Scott) told Nelba Marquez-Greene that her dead daughter Ana Grace (both right) was ‘in a better place’ because Marquez-Greene is ‘ugly’
Grieving: Marquez-Greene (pictured with her husband, Jimmy Greene and a photo of their daughter in 2013) lost Ana Grace during the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre
‘Ugliness’: The grieving mom told off Baio for a Sandy Hook conspiracy tweet, at which point his wife responded with this shocking tweet – leading to a backlash from other web users
Marquez-Greene later told a supporter that the message had made her so nauseated that ‘I literally threw up in the parking lot of a Big Y.’
The brouhaha started on Thursday when Baio retweeted a meme that implied the deaths at Sandy Hook and the recent Charlottesville white supremacist rally were either faked or government orchestrated.
It showed similar-looking photos of Donna Soto, mom of slain Sandy Hook teacher Vicky Soto, and Susan Bro, mother of slain Charlottesville protester Heater Heyer, implying were the same woman.
He added the comment ‘Thoughts.’
That meme is inspired by online conspiracy theories – promoted by Alex Jones, among others – claiming that the government faked the Sandy Hook shooting.
Parents of the children killed in the massacre have been hounded online and offline by conspiracy theorists claiming they either had their kids killed, sold them into sex trafficking, or never had kids at all.
Baio, who played Chachi in Happy Days and its spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi, was taken to task by Marquez-Greene.
‘I guess Chachi > the real @ScottBaio,’ she wrote. ‘We love you @TeamVickiSoto – so sorry this happened to your mom. #ThursdayThoughts #Newtown #Grief’
She later tweeted that Baio had blocked her for that message; Marquez-Greene said that showed ‘we have more courage in one pinky’.
Conspiracy: On Thursday, Baio retweeted a photo suggesting that the mothers of people killed in Sandy Hook in 2012 and at the recent Charlottesville protests were the same woman – in turn implying that the incidents were faked or government-sponsored
Complaint: Marquez responded to his remark by saying that Baio isn’t as good as his Happy Days character, Chachi – and kicked off the argument with his wife
Baio has since apologized and said that he regrets retweeting the meme, but his wife – who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2014 – apparently stridently took his side.
That led to Marquez-Greene responding: ‘Sure hope no one makes fun of you or suggests you’re acting. Instead? I will say god bless you and best wishes for a speedy recovery.’
Renee Baio’s response to that is no longer visible, as she made her account private after being lambasted by other users, but she appeared to take exception to the grieving mother’s remarks.
On Saturday Marquez-Greene tweeted: ‘I was clear. I wished you a speedy recovery. I believe what you wrote is what we call in the field “projection”. Good try though, boo.
‘And for a mom to suggest to another that her children are better off dead? Girl, don’t pray for me. Don’t come for me. Pray for yourself.’
Renee Baio came under fire from other Twitter users in the wake of her remarks.
Confrontation: Marquez-Greene replied to a now-protected and inaccessible tweet from Renee Biao and said she hoped that people didn’t think that she was faking her brain tumor. Sandy Hook parents and survivors are harassed by some who say the incident was a hoax
‘Projection’: The grieving mom then said that she was being honest – she was hoping for Mrs Baio’s recovery – and that a belief that she was attacking her was ‘projection’
Furious: She then furiously tackled Baio for suggesting that her daughter was better off dead, telling the former TV star’s wife to ‘pray for herself’
Nauseous: Marquez-Greene claimed that the shock of reading the remark from Renee Baio had left her so ‘nauseated’ that she ‘literally three up in the parking lot of a Big Y’
User @superman_561 tweeted: ‘After seeing what @ScottBaio and @MrsScottBaio said to a mother who lost their child to violent incident they are the lowest form of scum.’
‘@MrsScottBaio hope u go to hell for the sandy hook remarks,’ said @braver_jeff. ‘How classless. May you know her pain.’
‘Renee Baio even your own god would disavow you,’ @ziyatong fumed. ‘What you said to a woman who lost her child is revolting. You should be ashamed of yourself.’
And AssembledAtoms wrote: ‘Even if you believe conspiracy theories, I’d hope that on the *possible* chance you’re wrong, you’d avoid directly insulting a victim.’
On Sunday, in the wake of the complaints, Marquez-Greene asked everyone to calm down.
Mercy: After Renee Baio came under fire, Marquez-Greene made a series of tweets in which she called for justice and mercy, and for people to stop attacking the woman online
Honor: She said it wouldn’t ‘honor’ Ana Grace to continue the attacks against the Baios; in another tweet she invited people to pray for the minor celebrity couple
Wisdom: Marquez-Greene said her daughter had commended her not to let people ‘suck your fun circuits dry’ and that she wouldn’t allow the Twitter feud to get to her
‘Our family really appreciates all of the support,’ she wrote. ‘We also want to say that seeking justice & loving mercy for us- work together.
‘It would NOT honor our daughter’s life if we were as cruel to others as they are 2 us. It would also not honor the God who she & we so love.
‘We are SO not going to get this right all the time. But I am so damn grateful Ana’s death has not turned us bitter. Like so many grieving families and hurting people before us, we want to leave the world better.
‘If you can, pray for the Baios. If that’s not your thing, we respect that too. But please do not be nasty to them in our name.
‘A little before she died she left me with these words, “don’t let them suck your fun circuits dry, mom”. And we intend to do just that.’
In the wake of Baio’s apology, Vicky Soto’s sister told the New York Daily News she would not accept his response.
‘I can’t accept an apology from someone who spews hate. Whether he believes it or not, just sharing it has an impact,’ she said.
‘His apology is not real. He personally chose to share this, then he chose to block my family when we tried to defend ourselves. That doesn’t feel like a sincere apology.’
Strong: The day after Baio’s retweet, Marquez-Green posted this image of her daughter going off to school, calling for God to ‘heal our broken hearts’