Texas Sues Tylenol Companies Over 'Baseless' Autism Claims

A photo illustration of Tylenol — Source: Peter Dazeley / Getty

In today’s episode of Republicans Were Already Stupid, But Trump Has Made Them Stupider, the state of Texas is suing Tylenol-maker Kenvue and its former parent company, Johnson & Johnson, alleging the companies deceived their consumers knowing and concealing that it could cause autism — an idea state officials got from President Donald Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and a single scientific review that scientists have repeatedly said does not conclusively prove a link between the Tylenol ingredient in question, acetaminophen, and any neurodevelopmental disorder.

According to the New York Times, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, claiming the two companies knowingly withheld evidence from consumers about Tylenol’s links to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and that Kenvue was created to shield Johnson & Johnson from liability over Tylenol.

But here’s what’s really going on here…

RFK Jr. — who had no medical expertise before Trump appointed him to serve as the highest medical authority in the country — found a single scientific review that kinda, sorta but not really backs his claims that modern medicine is causing autism. Then, the president — who has indicated time and time again that he gets the bulk of his information from the tinfoil hat corner of the internet that doesn’t rely on pesky things like facts and data — took RFK and his “research” at face value and began blindly announcing to the world that “taking Tylenol is not good” due to what he probably had just learned 5 minutes ago about acetaminophen, a word he couldn’t even pronounce.

So, a little more than a month or so after Trump began spreading the anti-Tylenol gospel, Paxton files a lawsuit that seems to serve no other purpose than to illustrate his loyalty to Trump and dedication to his conspiracy theory-driven MAGA agenda. He’s basically saying to his constituents: “Hey, look at me! I’m so far up Trump’s butt I’m filing briefs while my head is caught on his briefs!”

Paxton’s lawsuit doesn’t even appear to have any plaintiff listed outside of the state of Texas, which means it wasn’t even filed on behalf of these, I guess, theoretical consumers who were duped into buying Tylenol without knowledge of its alleged link to autism, which doesn’t even satisfy the scientific standard for what is considered theoretical. In fact, you can tell how politically motivated Paxton’s filing is by his substanceless, platitude-heavy statement announcing the lawsuit.

“By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again,” he said, according to the Washington Post.

So, this entire lawsuit is based on the partisan whims of Trump, the commander-in-cancer-causing-windmills-and-Lysol-injections, Paxton, who is transparently pledging his MAGA fealty to his MAGA messiah, and RFK, who didn’t know the difference between Medicaid and Medicare during his confirmation hearing, and thinks Lyme disease is a “militarily engineered bioweapon,” that Black people don’t need white people’s vaccine schedule due to our super negro immune systems, and that its a good idea to take his grandkids swimming in sewage.

It’s like the blind leading the blind, but with old, mediocre, feeble-minded white men with the most inflated senses of self that might just smother us all.

Anyway, according to the Post, Kenvue said in a statement that it is “deeply concerned by the perpetuation of misinformation on the safety of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the health of American women and children,” called the lawsuit “baseless” and claimed its medication “is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy.”

People who are actually medical experts appear to agree, not that it has stopped the Trump administration or its GOP sycophants from continuing to oil up the propaganda machine.

From the Times:

For years, scientists have conducted research on a potential connection between acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders, but the studies have so far produced mixed results.

Medical groups pushed back against the Trump administration’s warning in September, saying that Tylenol was the only pain reliever safe for use during pregnancy to treat high fevers. If untreated, they pose serious risks to the health of the baby and the mother.

Mr. Paxton, who is challenging Senator John Cornyn, the incumbent, in the Republican primary next year, has been aggressive in filing litigation that aligns with Mr. Trump’s priorities. He has challenged the results of the 2020 election, sued nonprofits representing immigrants’ rights and sought to remove Democratic lawmakers from office in Texas during a battle over redistricting. Though not always successful, Mr. Paxton’s legal efforts have generated deep support for him among Texas Republicans.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration said it was seeking to include a warning on the drug’s label about the connection to neurodevelopmental disorders. Kenvue said it would oppose the changes, arguing that they were “not supported by the existing science.”

These GOP leaders are consistently doing the most with the least bit of knowledge about literally anything, and they are following an administration that routinely turns pseudoscience and conspiracy-driven ideology into legislation and policy.

Where does it end?

Covfefe Chronicles | Ep. 10 – Trump’s Tylenol Panic Is About Whiteness

No Ordinary Love: What You Should Know About Being An Autism Dad