GOP Senator Comes Up With Colorful Insult for Santos

John Kennedy calls fellow Republican a 'bunny boiler,' a reference to 1987's 'Fatal Attraction'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 25, 2023 8:09 AM CST
GOP Senator Comes Up With Colorful Insult for Santos
Rep. George Santos, R-NY, departs Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 11.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Rep. George Santos has been rather busy since the 118th Congress convened on Jan. 3, though not all with duties related to his new role as a US congressman. He's mainly been playing defense against his ever-evolving laundry list of lies, the barbs of late-night comedians, and allegations of campaign finance violations, drag queen competitions, and even the scamming of a veteran over his dying dog. Now, a new addition to his to-do list: addressing colorful insults from a fellow Republican.

Newsweek reports the put-downs come courtesy of Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, who seems fed up with Santos' antics. On Monday, Kennedy said of Santos, "He's nutty as a fruitcake. That's why I called him a bunny boiler. I don't know if you've seen Fatal Attraction, but there are people like that out there." CNN was first to report on the senator's statements, and video soon followed. Kennedy's "bunny boiler" slur is a reference to the famous scene from the 1987 film starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas in which the romantically spurned character played by Close boils the pet rabbit of the daughter of Douglas' character.

How that applies to Santos appears to lie in the definition offered by Dictionary.com, which notes a bunny boiler is "a person ... who is considered to be emotionally unstable and likely to be dangerously vengeful." Urban Dictionary sounds a similarly alarming bell on the term, noting that when a bunny boiler doesn't get their way, "the bunny boiler then resorts to plan B: destruction." Santos didn't seem to appreciate the insinuation. "I am saddened that a distinguished senator from the GOP, whom I've respected would use such derogatory language against me," he tweeted Tuesday. "Language like that is hurtful and divisive, and has no place in Congress." (More George Santos stories.)

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