A Canadian politician faced immediate backlash when he posted a photo of his wife covered in snow after working her 12-hour hospital shift.
Manitoba Cabinet Minister John Reyes felt the wrath of Twitter for standing inside warmly and taking photos while his wife, Cynthia Reyes, shoveled snow in the freezing temperatures.
"Even after a 12-hour shift at the hospital last night, my wife still has the energy to shovel the driveway," Reyes tweeted Saturday morning. "God bless him and all our frontliners. Time to make him some breakfast."
The tweet went viral, but not for the reasons Reyes might have expected. Twitter users slammed the cabinet minister for not going to the driveway to help his wife and for not shoveling her before returning home.
Thomas Lukaszuk, a Canadian politician, told his followers that the picture is "not a portrait of every politician's husband."
Even after a 12 hour night shift at the hospital last night, my wife still has the energy to shovel the driveway. God bless her and all our frontliners. Time to make her some breakfast. 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/91vahySLqO
— Jon Reyes (@jonreyes204) January 8, 2022
Another user posted an infamous meme to describe the incident.
Ladies, let the record show that this is not a depiction of every politician husband.😳 #abpoli #ableg https://t.co/tlKPGXztvq
— Thomas A. Lukaszuk (@LukaszukAB) January 9, 2022
Some Twitter users also claimed that Reyes had created a fake profile for his wife when an account named after his wife retweeted the original tweet, saying "All I wanted to do was shovel!"
“her hands look like this so mine can look like this” pic.twitter.com/hUxRUfQlHe
— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) January 9, 2022
According to Canadian news outlet CBC, Reyes declined a request for an interview, but sent him a statement via email.
"My wife is amazing both at home and at work. I am forever grateful for her and everything she does. I love her so much," he told the outlet.
“I am delighted that she is getting the worldwide recognition she deserves, and it serves as a reminder to everyone – especially me today – that we should show our gratitude to healthcare workers.” Can never do enough."