By Marina Pitofsky
Staff Writer
The Hill
A Houston doctor who made false statements about the coronavirus in a video that was removed from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube this week has previously made other unfounded claims about medical conditions, sexual contact with spirits, the U.S. government, children’s television shows and more.
Stella Immanuel appeared in a video this week published by the right-wing outlet Breitbart News.
The video shows people in white lab coats holding a press conference in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The group calls itself “America’s Frontline Doctors,” and in the video, Immanuel argues that “you don’t need masks” to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She also claims that studies showing that hydroxychloroquine is not effective for treating the disease are “fake science” and sponsored by “fake pharma companies.”
President Trump posted versions of the video on Twitter on Monday; they were later removed by the social media site. The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., also tweeted the video, and Twitter announced that it has limited his account for 12 hours.
But Immanuel, who is a licensed physician in Texas, according to the Texas Medical Board, has previously claimed on YouTube and in articles on her website that gynecological problems, such as endometriosis, cysts and infertility, are caused by individuals having sex with demons and witches in their dreams.
Immanuel’s claims were first reported by The Daily Beast.
Immanuel has said in sermons on YouTube that widespread gynecological issues are caused by sexual contact with “spirit husbands” and “spirit wives.”
Immanuel said in a 2015 sermon that alien DNA is used in medical treatments. In another 2015 sermon, she claimed that researchers are currently working on a vaccine to prevent individuals from being religious.