What is the controversial ad he's running against Democratic candidate Amy Acton, and why are people saying it's unethical?

What the ad says

In the ad, Donna Arthur speaks directly to camera and repeatedly calls her daughter a liar. Arthur says, "It's not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy Acton was a serious problem. She is a liar; she lies about her past." She disputes Acton's account of childhood hardship: "She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true."

The video was first published by an Ohio political blogger known as "The Rooster," who told CNN he obtained it from a voter who saw it as part of a poll and recorded it. The video did not include the typical disclaimer about who paid for it. Ramaswamy confirmed to reporters it was "an ad from our campaign." His campaign is now pouring $4 million into airing it, doubling down despite fierce bipartisan backlash.

Why court records tell a different story

An Associated Press review of court records shows that the late Cledith Arthur, Donna Arthur's husband, was arrested and charged with raping Acton, then aged 12, with the abuse allegedly running from 1976 to 1978 and Acton's biological father having reported it to authorities. Acton's younger brother Phil Stearns said their mother lost custody, as she "stayed married to Amy's rapist until he died." Police did find the stepfather living in a tent when Acton was a child, court records show, directly undercutting Arthur's claim that Acton invented the tent story.

In the ad, Donna Arthur does not directly mention Acton's account of abuse, but broadly casts the Democrat as a liar. Acton said her mother was "eventually arrested, the court documents show, from the tent" and that she has not seen her mother since a court appearance when she was 12.

Why people are calling it unethical

Three things together are driving the outrage.

America First, the source. Ramaswamy is gambling that a deeply personal attack by Acton's mother, who Acton has said sided with her stepfather after he sexually assaulted Acton when she was 12, will resonate with voters. Platforming the one person in Acton's life who is documented to have failed to protect her from abuse, and having that person call her a liar about it, is what most critics are calling the central offense.

Second, the facts don't hold. The ad has created mass backlash, including from sexual assault survivors who are blaming Acton's opponent. Court records produced by news outlets contradict Arthur's specific claims, which means the ad doesn't just weaponize childhood trauma, it does so with disputed facts.

Third, the timing. Acton, who has publicly discussed suffering abuse as a child, criticized Ramaswamy for using her family history just two weeks before Election Day.

Acton's spokesperson Addie Bullock said:

"The choice to use, and then stand by, Dr. Acton's estranged and abusive mother who stayed married to her rapist stepfather until the day he died shows Ohioans exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is."

Stearns said in response:

"It's not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother's husband into a political talking point."