A video showing a boy shouting “screw our president!” at an anti-Donald Trump protest last Thursday had gone viral soon after. But it’s only now that we know the apparently identity of the fiery young child — Connor Carey, the 11-year-old son of comedian Drew Carey.
The incident took place on Thursday evening, as Fox News covered an anti-Trump protest in Washington D.C. on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Speaking to a young boy who was among the many protesters assembled outside the National Press Club, reporter Griff Jenkins focused on a small bonfire that had just died out, and asked the child about his supposed involvement in the fire.
Identifying himself as Connor, the child admitted to Jenkins that he had “actually started the fire.” After correcting Jenkins, who had mistakenly called him “Carter,” Connor then went on to concisely explain the reason why he had committed the act.
“Because I felt like it, and, because I’m just saying ‘screw our president!’”
Jenkins then went on to interview other protesters, while Connor moved away from the camera. But the open disdain and strong anti-Donald Trump sentiment expressed by the boy had caused Fox News ‘ footage to go viral, leaving many people wondering about the identity of the child. But thanks to TMZ ‘s detective work, the child was revealed to be Connor Carey, the son of Drew Carey’s ex-fiancée Nicole Jaracz. Although the couple had split in 2012, the Price is Right host remains a father figure to the boy, still referring to Connor as his son on social media posts , the Huffington Post wrote.
Apple-cheeked revolutionary Connor is actually Drew Carey’s son https://t.co/Ep2RUVahnr pic.twitter.com/MfC5tmaW9f
— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) January 26, 2017
As most parents would be upon learning that their child used some strong-for-their-age language about the president, both Drew and Nicole were upset about how Connor Carey conducted himself to Fox News reporter Jenkins, TMZ added. The publication claims that the boy was in “hot water” after Jaracz and Carey found out what had happened.
TMZ ‘s source also notes that Connor ultimately “regretted his choice of words” after being lectured over the incident.
Though it’s unclear whether the interview took place before or after Connor Carey’s outspoken outburst, TMZ also had a few words with Drew Carey as the anti-Trump protests took place. He explained that he was just in the area and having dinner when “(his) kid wanted to see the (protests).” Carey, who was in the D.C. area for a hosting job the next day, added that he didn’t vote for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections, and said that the scene he and Connor were witnessing “wasn’t bad for a protest.”
The relationship between Drew and Connor Carey has been an interesting one through the years. According to the Huffington Post , Drew doesn’t have any biological children, but the veteran comedian and host considers Connor to be one of his own, referring to him in 2015 as “the best thing in my life.” The child was also credited for helping Carey lose 70 pounds in a 2010 interview with Parade .
“I couldn’t keep up with him … I’d be like, ‘Connor, I can’t,’ and he’d say, ‘C’mon, Dad!’ That was a terrible feeling. I thought, I’m never going to see him graduate high school.”
With almost one week having gone by since Connor Carey made his thoughts about Donald Trump known to the world, he has received praise from the likes of A.V. Club for his candidness on the issue . Yet he has also been the target of critical comments from several TMZ readers, one of whom believes that a stern lecture wasn’t enough to make up for his words and, as he claimed, his actions.
“So the kid should get a pass on arson because his parents gave him a good talking to? I don’t think so.”
[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]