Former Rep. Katie Hill to Matt Gaetz: Take My Name Out of Your Mouth

Under federal investigation for allegedly trafficking minors for sex and now under a congressional ethics investigation for displaying nude photos of women on the U.S. House floor, GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz is in deep trouble. Yet the anti-LGBTQ+ Florida congressman and close ally of Donald Trump refuses to resign and just recently used his past defense of bisexual former Congresswoman Katie Hill to claim he's a supporter of women.

When the California congresswoman was forced out of her seat in 2019 after nude photos of her appeared on a right-wing website amid reports of her extramarital affairs, Gaetz tweeted support for her. "Who among us would look perfect if every ex leaked every photo/text? Katie isn't being investigated by Ethics or maligned because she hurt anyone -- it is because she is different," Gaetz tweeted at the time.

Even though Hill was on the other side of the political aisle, she expressed appreciation for Gaetz's sentiment and considered him a friend at the time.

Gaetz brought up his past defense of Hill in a recent op-ed he wrote, where he defended his reputation and his treatment of women.

Now Hill is speaking out about her relationship with Gaetz. She recently told MSNBC's Chris Hayes she feels "betrayed" by the politician. Then on Friday, Hill spoke to CNN's Erin Burnett, saying Gaetz's references to her in his op-ed are "gross."

"Clearly, I have a history of trusting men I shouldn't, and any criticism of my character assessment is probably warranted," Hill said, referencing Gaetz and her ex-husband, who she said released the nude photos of her. Hill added that she didn't know Gaetz opposed a revenge porn bill in Florida or shared nude photos of numerous women with other politicians on the House floor (Gaetz was also the only congressmember to vote against a human trafficking bill in 2017).

"This is a classic example of where men's behavior is far and away treated differently than women's is," Hill added, saying it took much longer for the House Ethics Committee to launch an investigation into Gaetz than it did into her actions.

"Every motive for him defending me ... at the time it mattered, anyone defending me mattered. I felt very alone, I felt like I didn't have the defense from my own Democratic colleagues ... knowing now [his defense of Hill] could have been just because he was just kind of covering up for his own indiscretions ... it's just gross."

Watch the interview with Hill below.