If you thought Ben Shapiro was the only famous conservative in his family, think again. Abigail Shapiro, better known by many as Classically Abby, is a social media influencer who, like her brother, has ruffled feathers across all corners of the internet for her conservative views. The younger sister of conservative pundit and Daily Wire founder, Shapiro is especially known for her YouTube channel and Instagram posts, both of which garner millions of views and make headlines for challenging liberal media and taking jabs at celebrities, influencers, and, well, other YouTubers.
Classically Abby gives advice about living life as a “classy” woman and helps her audience feel confident about staying “traditional”. Her polarizing views have made her a target for all those who vehemently disagree with her stance on feminism, marriage, motherhood, transgenderism, and more.
Who is Abigail Shapiro?
Born in 1992, Shapiro is a classically trained opera singer who turned to YouTube during the pandemic when work as a singer was not available due to the lockdowns. Shapiro is currently married to attorney Jacob Roth, with whom she has one child with another on the way.
According to her substack page, Shapiro describes herself as a “wife, mama, opera singer, entrepreneur, YouTuber, and your guide to becoming the classic woman you’ve always wanted to be!” She goes on to say that being a mom and a wife are her most important jobs:
“I like cooking my husband dinner and I love being married. Being a mama and wife are my most important jobs, and raising my son is the greatest gift and responsibility one could hope for. I have traditional values and I’m not afraid to share them!”
To her devout fans, Shapiro is a young woman who represents conservative values and is a positive influence on a social media-savvy generation. To her detractors, she is living in the dark ages. Since becoming an influencer, Shapiro has directly followed in her brother’s footsteps as a polarizing figure who continues to drum up controversy with opinions ranging from criticism of the Barbie movie to Taylor Swift.
Classically Abby’s controversial opinions
Shapiro courted controversy when she compared Nancy Reagan, the wife of President Ronald Reagan, with notorious pop star Madonna. The comparison was especially shocking for fans of the “Queen of Pop,” but Shapiro really hammered the nail in the coffin when she called the First Lady “classy” and the pop star “trashy”. That was enough to anger the fans of Madonna, but the Republican base ate it up.
Still, that was only half the hailstorm compared to what she received after launching an attack on the Swiftie community. Shapiro criticized Swift for her song “The Man”, a song about gender inequality, and went on to say that the reason she lost interest in Swift as an artist is because Swift acts like a “victim” and a “SJW”, or social justice warrior. Suffice it to say, the response from Swift’s fan base was fast and furious.
Perhaps the biggest (or at least head-scratching) reason Shapiro’s detractors have a gripe with her is that Shapiro operates firmly under the belief that women have all the same rights as men in America. All the same rights. Yes, all of them.
“I’m tired of women saying that we don’t have rights in America. Now clearly Taylor Swift’s video was about women in America and so was my tweet. I wasn’t trying to say women around the world are given the same rights as men. Now, I know that’s not the case. I was specifically talking about America, and a lot of the time feminists are arguing about equal rights and opportunities in America, where we already have them.”
That’s right — Shapiro firmly believes that women in America have all the same rights as men. Whether because she’s a stay at home mother or an influencer and isn’t affected by the gender wage gap that’s still prevalent in the States, Shapiro clearly is unaware that as of 2023, women still make $0.82 for every dollar that a man earns, according to Pew Research Center. For women of color, that can be as low as $0.49 to $0.75, according to research conducted by the non-profit organization National Womens Law Center.
That’s not even getting into the reality that women form a minority across government positions, corporate positions, entertainment, sports, news media, and more. But hey, if you ask Abby, that’s because a woman’s place is at home.
And because arguing with someone who has a rigid grip on outdated or frankly incorrect opinions is a mammoth undertaking and likely to go in one ear and out the other, we won’t even get into body autonomy or the rampant sexual harassment that still plagues not only the U.S. but women across the globe.