Jessica Wetzstein Deserves Better: From Medical Advocate to Political Scapegoat

There’s something deeply unsettling happening behind the scenes of Canada’s political influencer campaigns—and unfortunately, it’s happening at the expense of one of the most passionate and fearless advocates for women’s health in Vancouver, Jessica Wetzstein.

Recently, Jessica found herself at the centre of a political controversy, after being approached by the NDP party and its leader Jagmeet Singh for a promotional campaign – something she did for FREE. But instead of championing her voice, they exploited her platform, only to throw her under the bus when headlines took a turn. Now, instead of celebrating her powerful advocacy work, her name is tangled in a National Post headline that reads like a political hit piece: “NDP drops OnlyFans creator Anti-Israel Content.”

Let’s call this what it is: a calculated move that disregards a woman’s safety and credibility. And now? They’re trying to clean it up by throwing money at other creators, hoping the rest of us won’t notice. Spoiler: we do. This is the creator world—most of us are one degree of separation away from each other, and Jessica’s story didn’t stay quiet for long. Hell most of my best friends are bloggers AND are so close to me they’re practically neighbors, we all talk and support each other.

The NDP had the opportunity to do something courageous. Instead of distancing themselves from Jessica Wetzstein when things got uncomfortable, they could have used that moment to advocate for women’s rights, reproductive autonomy, disability support, and the realities that drive women—especially disabled women—into sex work for survival. But instead, they stayed silent. They let a woman take the fall. And now they’re hoping we’ll forget. We won’t. As a lifetime NDP voter: I will never forget.

Who is Jessica Wetzstein, really?

What’s getting lost in the noise is the incredible work Jessica has done—not as a political pawn, but as a bold voice for women who are routinely gaslit in medical spaces. Her journey is one that far too many women will find painfully familiar.

Jessica began experiencing debilitating pain when she was just 14 years old. For years, she begged doctors for answers—only to be met with doubt, dismissal, and outdated ideas about her ability to make decisions about her own body. Hmmm sounds similar to the years I’ve spent in doctors offices to still not have answers, the amount of times my mom was told she had bronchitis only to turn out to be terminal with lung cancer. Despite a family history that clearly pointed to uterine issues (13 out of 18 women in her family have had hysterectomies), Jessica was told she was “too young,” that she “might change her mind,” and that she should keep suffering because… what if she wanted to have children someday?

It wasn’t until much later that she was diagnosed with adenomyosis, a condition that causes severe uterine pain, and now she’s awaiting an MRI for endometriosis—two chronic illnesses that have historically been ignored, under-researched, and flat-out dismissed by the medical community. Jessica has made it clear: she’s done waiting. “You thinking of me as a breeding pod is not as important as me as a human having to live my life through suffering,” she told Daily Hive Canada. And she’s right.

Jessica’s story, featured in national and international media, highlights the deeply entrenched issue of medical gaslighting—where women, especially those with chronic or invisible illnesses, are told their pain is all in their head. The Smithsonian Magazine profiled her experience in a piece on how mental illness is often used as a scapegoat diagnosis when doctors can’t—or won’t—do the work to find a real answer. In Jessica’s case, her legitimate symptoms were written off as anxiety or hypochondria, and she was passed from specialist to specialist with no real help in sight.

A voice that shouldn’t be silenced

Jessica Wetzstein isn’t just an influencer. She’s a survivor. She’s an advocate. She’s a woman who stood up and told the truth about her body and her pain—loudly. And instead of being applauded for it, she’s being dragged through headlines designed to discredit her.

She is currently house hunting, trying to rebuild a life that has now been overshadowed by a media smear campaign. Imagine trying to move forward when the first thing that comes up when someone Googles your name is a sensationalized political headline, rather than your years of advocacy for reproductive justice, bodily autonomy, and fair access to healthcare.

Let’s not let that be the legacy the internet assigns her.

We see you, Jessica

To anyone reading this: remember her name. Jessica Wetzstein has helped push forward conversations that too many people are still afraid to have. About medical misogyny and gaslighting. About the failings of our healthcare system. About how political parties still haven’t figured out that women are more than just talking points in a social strategy.

And let’s be crystal clear: sex work is work. It is not something to be weaponized in political narratives or used to shame someone who is advocating for survival, justice, and equity. Jessica’s participation in platforms like OnlyFans shouldn’t detract from her credibility—it should highlight the harsh realities that force many marginalized people to find income where they can, especially when disability support and basic income structures are failing them. Her choice to take control of her own financial autonomy is not a scandal—it’s a statement of resilience in a system that gives women, disabled people, and sex workers very few choices. It’s time we stopped acting like sex work erases someone’s value. It doesn’t. If anything, it proves how powerful, resourceful, and unbreakable Jessica really is.

She deserved better from the NDP. She deserves better from media coverage. And she certainly deserves better from a system that continues to fail women over and over again.

Let’s make sure this is the version of her story that ranks high in Google. Because this one is true. This one matters.