Patton Oswalt Got Trolled on Twitter. His Troll Is Now 'Humbled'

A Twitter troll went after Patton Oswalt—and the comedian managed to turn it into one of the most uplifting stories of the week. It started Wednesday, when Oswalt made fun of President Trump on Twitter, which provoked snarky reactions from 64-year-old Michael Beatty, including saying he was happy Oswalt's character had died in Blade: Trinity. Oswalt briefly clapped back, but he then visited Beatty's Twitter feed and made a sobering discovery: the Alabama resident was trying to raise $5,000 after serious medical issues, including sepsis and an eight-day coma he'd been in from diabetes complications, per the Washington Post. That's when Oswalt changed his tune. "He's been dealt some s---ty cards—let's deal him some good ones," Oswalt tweeted, asking fans to donate. The San Francisco Chronicle notes it appears Oswalt himself gave $2,000.

Beatty's response: "Patton. You have humbled me to the point where I can barely compose my words. You have caused me to take pause and reflect on how harmful words from my mouth could result in such an outpouring." He also acknowledged his "rather rough" original tweets and noted he's deleted other offensive posts (including one to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). Some say that, based on other questionable comments Beatty has made online, there are more deserving people that Oswalt could have crowdfunded for; others used the story as evidence that the US needs a better health-care system. But the amount of money that flowed into Beatty's GoFundMe seems to suggest that many were indeed inspired to donate: More than $32,000 had been amassed as of Friday morning. Beatty says he's now an Oswalt fan, calling him "a man of character." (More Patton Oswalt stories.)