Abigail Shapiro, popularly known as Classically Abby, is the prominent US political analyst Ben Shapiro’s 28-year-old sister. The youthful mother is regarded as one of the most contentious celebrities, and her tweets have concocted massive controversies online.
She has previously described herself on social media as “a wife, mama-to-be, opera singer, entrepreneur, YouTuber, and your guide to being the iconic woman you’ve ever wished to be.” Abigail and Jacob Roth, her husband, welcomed their beautiful baby boy in March 2022.
Here is more on how Abigail Shapiro has stirred the internet and has been making headlines ever since she stepped into social media.
Who Is Abigail Shapiro?
Abigail, Ben’s younger sister, is ten years younger than him and was born in 1994. Before converting to Orthodoxy, she and Ben were brought up in a traditional Jewish home in Los Angeles.
Around three years after first coming to the public’s attention, Abby started posting videos on YouTube, thanks to her elder brother. She experienced severe online anti-Semitic harassment and abuse once strangers learned who she was, according to a 2017 Forward story. Later, she claimed that part of this harassment was caused by her political views in the video “Why I Came Out As Conservative: Conservative Women NEED A Community” from April 2020.
Abby is now a conservative commentator under the moniker “Classically Abby,” partly following her brother’s footfalls.
She claims to be “the first conservative influencer” on her channel and has about 108,000 YouTube subscribers. Her catchphrase, “Let’s Be Classic,” highlights the significance, in her opinion, of leading a traditional lifestyle centered on womanhood and culture.
On her YouTube channel, she shares her opinions on divisive matters like chastity, feminism, abortion, and sexuality. She also shares her religious convictions and more conventional lifestyle subjects like household chores, marriage, and cooking.
Biographical Facts of Classically Abby
Abigail Shapiro was born in Los Angeles, California, USA, on November 8, 1993, which makes her 29 years old. She and her spouse are currently living in a beautiful house in Los Angeles.
Abby completed her education at The Episcopal School of Los Angeles. Following that, she applied to and was accepted into the Manhattan School of Music in New York to pursue a bachelor’s degree in classical and opera singing.
Abigail Shapiro was raised in a traditional Jewish household. David Shapiro, her father, is a novelist and poet. Michelle Shapiro, her mother, is employed by a private company. American political analyst, news broadcaster, and debater Ben Shapiro is her brother.
She spent a long time with Jacob Roth, and on May 28, 2018, they were married in a small ceremony. Staff attorney Jacob Roth is employed by YAF’s national office in Reston, Virginia.
Abigail Shapiro has deep brown hair, a height of 5 feet 5 inches, and weighs about 125 pounds. She has warm brown eyes and has no tattoos, unlike her brother.
Abigail Shapiro is quite popular for her “Classically Abby” YouTube channel, where she posts videos on fashion, beauty, and life tips.
She comes from a family of musicians. Her sister is an excellent singer and pianist, her father is a poet and pianist, and her brother is a violinist. Abby is also a self-taught MUA.
The Walk of Fame
Abby Shapiro Began Her Career as a Performer.
Abby didn’t start as a conservative influencer, according to tradition. In actuality, the YouTuber is mostly a skilled opera singer.
According to her website, she earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in music, and a professional diploma from the Manhattan School of Music. Abby previously appeared uncredited on Glee as one of The Golden Goblets while participating in the opera program at USC. She played the lead role in the Jewish musical film A Light for Greytowers when she was a little girl.
Abby married Jacob Roth, a similarly conservative staff attorney for Young America’s Foundation, before she started her career as a YouTuber. Throughout their marriage, they have stayed in both Virginia and Nebraska.
Sister of Ben Shapiro Has Stirred up Some Controversy of Her Own.
Like Ben, Abby has drawn a lot of attention and criticism. Dozens of other YouTubers have created videos criticizing her views after watching her videos on themes like modesty in women’s attire and the actions she considers “traditional” or “not classic.”
Abby supports Israel, is pro-life, and is a conservative. She identifies as a feminist even though she criticizes contemporary feminism and claims that the left side is misogynistic.
Many of Classically Abby’s fellow YouTubers, particularly, have stated that her views on gender roles are unduly reductionist and presumptuous. Others have attacked her for buying too many YouTube advertisements to advertise her channel.
She promoted several companies, such as Hard Seltzer and Jenniffer Miller Jewelry, and she also created videos about her Amazon hauls.
Funny though, Ben and Abby are kin to a much more well-known star. Their biological cousin Mara Wilson, who portrayed Matilda in Matilda, is very much on the opposing side of the family.
The Twitter Controversy
After tweeting a photo of Nancy Reagen, the former first lady of the United States, and a photo of Madonna, Abigail became embroiled in controversy. While Nancy is shown standing with her family in another photo, Madonna can be seen posing in bed wearing only her underwear. Abigail’s description of the images is a touch too extreme.
“This is Madonna at 63. And here is Nancy Reagan at 64. Trashy Living Vs. Classic Living”
She asked the question as she captioned the images, “Which version of yourself do you want to be?”
Since Abigail tweeted the images, many people have questioned her motives for publishing them. She was criticized for her position, which started a discourse about how conservative women suffer more than conservative males
By establishing her own YouTube channel, Classically Abby, as a hub for conservative ladies online, Abigail accomplished her dream of creating a network for conservative women.
Comments on the #MeToo movement
The #MeToo movement was criticized in a video titled “Why We Should NOT Just #BelieveAllWomen || This movement has severe flaws “Â by Classically Abby on May 6, 2020. With 56K dislikes at this time, the video flopped in terms of negative feedback.
She received criticism for blaming the victim and for her inconsistency in claiming feminists condemn women for their decisions while also asserting that not having children is unethical. She has also said that women who have had abortions should be embarrassed, women shouldn’t wear exposing clothing, that males should be manly and not wear dresses, and that individuals should only be married to those who share their religious beliefs.
Several YouTubers replied to her. However, Abby has stated that hate comments do not concern her.
Dressing up Modestly
Her video advocating modest clothing for women received 152K dislikes, making it her most despised video ever. She stated in the video that women should wear “in a way that was respectful to everyone” and refrain from dressing in a “garish” or “distracting” manner. She also claimed that women had an obligation to prevent males from harboring immoral intentions since they were all sexist perverts who were only interested in women’s bodies.
In addition, she added, “At fifty, do you want to be appreciated for your physique or your family?” which offended career-oriented women. She responded to the critiques, but it was met with an equally harsh response.
Inadequate Research
Her video, “Does Patriarchy REALLY Exist in Marriage?,” Abby stated that King Henry the Eighth was a kind husband, but after researching, it was proven this feminist tale doesn’t add up. In truth, he murdered his wives and mistreated the majority of them.
Making Money Out of Her Miscarriage
Abby had a miscarriage in May 2021; she documented the incident in a well-received video. However, Milo Yiannopoulos referred to her as an “ugly liar” and tweeted a screenshot of a Domino’s advertisement playing during her video on Telegram.
Classically Abby’s Allure for Hate Clicks
Influencers on YouTube live off interaction, while the alt-right benefits from bad publicity.
Most of us are familiar with Classically Abby’s numerous ads on YouTube. Classically Abby will eventually appear, extolling the virtues of traditional Jewish living and good women if you scroll a bit longer. Her promoted videos’ names are chosen to arouse curiosity or wrath in YouTube’s more sympathetic users.
Abby Shapiro appears to get most of her views via hate clicks based on the glaring disparity among viewership on her conservative vids, which is apparently about makeup looks and life hacks.
Shapiro mixes up videos like “Men in Dresses are TRASH” and “Conservatives are the New Resistance” with the typical “influencer” fodder of baking vlogs and hauls. The alt-right videos have the highest interaction, with some receiving millions of views.
However, you can find scores of parody clips by other women, mostly ridiculing or humorously copying Shapiro’s work, by searching “Classically Abby” on YouTube. This distinction has not yet been given to less politically engaged influencers.
Shapiro stands out because she is Jewish amid the group of vloggers who live orthodox Christian lives. She seldom preaches her religion in contrast to influencers similar to her. Instead, she cloaks her ideology in purportedly Jewish virtues like modesty or tzniut.
The reason is that Classically, Abby isn’t what she seems to be, but she’s doing it deliberately, like many other alt-right members who are blank slates or wonderfully nasty.
When Boston’s “Straight Pride Parade” shook the streets the year before, the regulated, covert character of fascism was discussed online. To avoid offending people in civilized settings, supporters of the alt-right disguise their beliefs and promotion methods in highly specialized memes, marches, and YouTube beauty tutorials. Shapiro is a little more forthright about her opinions, but they are still disguised in the seemingly innocent guise of traditional influencer culture.
Abby traditionally acts as a trojan horse promoting conservative beliefs disguising them as modesty and a glorification of feminine beauty, with the extra benefit of generating income for advertisers when viewers subscribe to her channel or click on her videos with interesting names out of curiosity.
After all, both good and negative engagement drives YouTube’s success. Even for those who view the videos only to ridicule them, Abby’s traditional contentious rhetoric videos are ideal for generating ad profit.
If the clip receives clicks, YouTube will continue to promote it, thereby contributing to the dissemination of false information and cunning marketing schemes. Shapiro is just one of several talking heads that promote their ideas through click-bait headlines and heavy advertising.
While we cannot comment on her true intentions behind the conservative ideology she promotes, there is no reason to doubt that they are financially lucrative.
Apart from completely de-platforming (which frequently results in a public outcry for freedom of expression), the safest way to avoid this is by not clicking on her videos. Classically Abby may complain about racism, injustice, and even sexism, but then again, hate clicks help her influence grow.
Most viewers got sick of her ads’ attempts to prod them into clicking so they could mock her. It might not have succeeded yet. However, as time goes on and alt-right recruiting tactics are made public, we find it hard to believe that hiding from her conservative values will ever be possible.
Abby’s Quick Ascendance to “Influencer” Status
Something occurred in August 2020 that caused Classically Abby’s subscriber count and video views to soar dramatically.
No, it wasn’t because her videos offering conservative wisdom got famous overnight; rather, she actively promoted her video content using YouTube discovery advertisements.
Instead of instream YouTube advertising, YouTube discovery advertisements that appear before, during, or after another video look similar to natural search terms in the video feed.
Only the little yellow “Ad” label next to the sponsor’s name differentiates such ads from an organic video.
By using this strategy to promote her videos, Abby could garner over 72,100 subscribers within just three months. As of July 2022, she has 108k subscribers.
Is Classically Abby Influencing People’s Life?
Despite Abby’s background as a qualified professional opera singer, her content promotes a particularly feminist version of conservatism. The YouTube channel Classically Abby has more than 108k followers as of this moment, and there is a definite distinction between the video content that has become popular online and those that remain obscure.
As you browse through Abby’s social media and YouTube channel, you’ll see that the videos that generally get little response inexplicably get the most positive feedback. Why? Well, you all know how her content has more affinity towards hate clicks.
About two years ago, Abby started filming videos more blatantly themed on archaic notions of gender stereotypes, celebrity culture, and even Judaism. But for almost a year, her YouTube Vlogs are on unimportant subjects like beauty and hair. Still, her catchy and controversial titles inevitably attract more viewers because you just can’t help yourself from clicking on a video that says, “LADIES, STOP HOOKING UP.”
While Abby officially rejects the term “tradwife” with her mantra “Let’s Be Classic,” her self-declared resistance to modern feminism unquestionably places her in the same league as other “traditional wives.” Tradwives, according to Abby, refers to a certain category of female bloggers who publish content critical of feminism and more cliched viewpoints.
Even seasoned veterans in the field of social media may find it challenging to stay on top of all the latest fashions and produce the perfect montages regularly. Thankfully, Abby Shapiro is here to “support” you.
She began writing blogs at first, but she soon became weary of reading other people’s opinions on the topics she found most interesting and came out as a YouTube star; not sure if Abby is a legit influencer, but she’s definitely famous.
While Abby actively promotes Jewish beliefs, the Christian connotation that would often be implied in Abby’s genre is challenged by her Jewish origin. Classically Abby and Christian activist/blogger both want a reversion to heritage. Still, the most obvious distinction between these two parties is that Abby allegedly isn’t seeking to convert anybody to organized religion, be it Christianity or Judaism.
Abigail, who is educated in Modern Orthodox Judaism and now claims that she’s in the phase of “Orthodox transitioning,” is quite forthright about the reality that Judaism is not a faith that actively seeks out new adherents. On her many social media accounts, including her Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Abby does more than post her thoughts; instead, she adamantly perpetrates them.
Although Abigail Shapiro is one of the few Jewish women creating content in this field, she stands apart from other conservative bloggers in more subtle ways. Rather than leveraging her forum to address this disparity, she presents herself as the arbiter on how women from a Jewish background -and occasionally women as a whole- should look and act.
How Abby signifies “Western culture” with the idea that a woman’s body is inappropriate to be exposed to anyone, but her spouse got massive criticism on social media. It is practically similar to how terms like “global capitalism” or “liberal media” serve as veiled allusions to the anti-Semitic notion of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy.
Also, her hatred for the word “Western culture” also signifies her support for racist ideas. Abby’s Jewish references and severe criticism of Christian belief and modern ideology are entering society as she propagates subtle analogies to more controversial and damaging viewpoints.
We are not sure what Classically Abby is trying to achieve with her one-sided, biased ideology, as she brainwashes her viewers, sugar-coating her conservatism with the “How To Classically Do Your Hair” type of content.
The best strategy for the viewers is to straightaway scroll anything that’s pro-Classically because Abby is still winning if she’s getting the views.