What to know
- Etay Beaton (a.k.a. The Lotion Guy) posted satirical content on his social media about grants from the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
- Beaton’s ill-timed posts led people to believe he was one of the reasons the Ford government made cuts to the program, leading him to receive backlash.
- Beaton says he’s been used as a “scapegoat” by the province and the media.
When Etay Beaton – a college student and content creator – started posting satirical videos about buying things with OSAP money last month, he had no idea they would lead to death threats from complete strangers.
Now Toronto sat down with Beaton in an exclusive interview.
@nowtoronto EXCLUSIVE: Etay Beaton (a.k.a. The Lotion Guy) says his satirical social media videos have been used as a ‘scapegoat’ by the Ford government. #OSAP ♬ original sound – Now Toronto
“I’m getting death threats, both on TikTok and Instagram saying things like, ‘I’m sending your family condolences from now,’ and a lot of vulgar things too,” Beaton says.
Beaton, a second-year student at Humber Polytechnic, started creating social media content in 2021. Earlier this year, when funds from the Ontario Student Assistance Program landed in bank accounts (as they do at the start of new semesters), Beaton thought it would be funny to create satirical videos about it.
“OSAP came in, everyone was happy, everyone was gassed,” Beaton says.
“I thought of a funny idea like, I could go on TikTok and show a bunch of expensive items and say, ‘Oh, I bought it with OSAP,’ ‘We love you OSAP money,” Beaton tells Now Toronto.
His posts went viral in days.
“I’m talking 300-, 400-thousand views. I honestly didn’t think it would get that much traction.”
A few days later, the Ford government announced cuts to OSAP.
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“I’m like, ‘Oh shoot, I’m about to be in deep, deep, deep trouble,’’ Beaton says.
Soon enough, he started receiving backlash online, with some even sending him death threats.
‘My family’s worried. My friends are worried about my safety. I’m worried about my safety,” Beaton says.
“I genuinely don’t know why I’m [in the hot seat] because I was not the only person posting about OSAP [like that].”
In fact, Beaton has been a vocal advocate for students since the Ford government announced the cuts, even attending the protest at Queen’s Park despite concerns about his safety.
“I had to beg my friends, ‘Please pull up with me.’ I had to get security with me right?” Beaton says.
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While he left the protest unharmed, he says he continues to receive threats.
Adding fuel to fire, CityNews broadcasted Beaton’s posts in a story regarding OSAP’s fraud investigations. The outlet said links were sent by the Ford government “as evidence that taxpayer money is being misspent.”
The banner read: ‘Ford government investigates OSAP fraud’.
Ford, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said, “I’ve heard some nightmare stories on the other side as well about kids going out there buying fancy watches and cologne and not needing it … that doesn’t fly with the taxpayers.”
Now Toronto reached out to Premier Doug Ford’s office and Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security on whether they had sent links to Beaton’s videos to media outlets, but did not receive a response by deadline.
Beaton says he was used as a “scapegoat” by Premier Doug Ford.
“[My OSAP videos] are all jokes,” he says.
Beaton says there was nothing fraudulent about his OSAP usage. Though he orders food from time to time and takes “unnecessary” Uber rides here and there, the 19-year-old says he would never be that irresponsible with his money.
He says he works hard to pay for his education and his lifestyle – full-time during the summer and part-time while he’s in school.
“My mom, she definitely has it a little rough, so we definitely use OSAP to help fund for school,” Beaton explains.
Beaton, who’s worked every summer since he was in high school, from Canada’s Wonderland to shopping malls (which, by the way, is where he was able to purchase a Fossil brand watch with an employee discount), says some of his critics don’t understand the costs associated with post-secondary education.
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“I spent $600 in my third semester alone on just textbooks,” Beaton says.
“I would be a big idiot if I decided to take all that OSAP money and spend it on foolishness.”
He says most of his grants go into a savings account so that he can pay off his loans as soon as he’s done with school.
OSAP cuts will have a direct impact on Beaton’s future.
Following his final semester at Humber, Beaton had plans to go to university to continue pursuing his Business degree. But with the cuts to OSAP grants, he’s now unsure if he wants to take on that kind of debt.
“We are students; we are the next generation, the generation of now,” Beaton says firmly.
“Once the older generation is gone and the world is in our hands, how are we going to take over the world, take care of the world, if we’re all in debt?”
Beaton, and many others, are hoping that the Ford government would consider reversing the changes to OSAP.
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In the meantime, Beaton says he plans to focus on the silver linings – the opportunities he has in content creation and completing his diploma at Humber.
He also has a few words for Premier Ford:
“What you see online, it’s not real. The internet is not a real place. Everyone says, ‘Don’t believe the things that you see online.’ Fact check it first. This is a prime example of why you should fact check everything you see, because people are using me as a scapegoat.”
And a few more for those sending him hateful message online:
“You guys need to do better and do your research, because that’s ridiculous.”
