Representative Giovanni Capriglione, who helped to make Texas one of the strictest anti-abortion states in the U.S., is facing allegations that he funded abortions.
Former exotic dancer Alex Grace has gone public with claims that Capriglione paid for her to have “several abortions” during an affair after they met 20 years ago.
Grace told Current Revolt that she met Capriglione, a Republican, when she was 18 years old and working as a dancer in 2004.
Highlights
- Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a key architect of Texas' strict anti-abortion laws, is accused of paying for several abortions during an affair.
- Alex Grace, a former exotic dancer, claims Capriglione’s anti-abortion stance contradicts his personal actions and alleges he funded abortions for personal gain.
- Capriglione admitted to the affair but denies paying for abortions, calling the allegations a smear campaign and stating his family has forgiven him.
Giovanni Capriglione has been accused of paying for several abortions
Image credits: Giovanni Capriglione
Capriglione, who has three children, has admitted to the affair but denies ever paying for an abortion.
According to Grace, the pair became “close friends” and then developed a relationship that included one-to-one meetups from 2005 and continued for 17 years.
She said that Capriglione’s wife knew about the affair.
Grace described him as a paranoid person who feared being seen with her and went to great lengths to avoid this, such as using burner phones.
One example Grace gave Current Revolt was when Capriglione allegedly told her, “Go to the back of [a Chuck E. Cheese] and next to the dumpster, there would be a rubber mat.”
Image credits: TikTok/Alex Grace
Under the rubber mat “was an envelope with money,” she said.
Capriglione is the Chair of the Texas House’s DOGE Committee, and in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, he authored the Human Protection Life Act.
That law prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually at around six weeks, and it significantly restricts access to abortion in Texas.
While Capriglione has a professional anti-abortion stance, Grace claims this does not reflect his personal views and says he “funded several abortions for his own personal gain.”
Image credits: Facebook/Giovanni Capriglione
“If you are using abortions for your personal gain, if you are using women for your personal gain, why announce to the world that this isn’t who you are?” she said.
Grace was pressed for additional details but declined to comment, saying, “You’re just going to have to go with my word.”
Three days before the interview was published, Capriglione announced he would not be seeking re-election.
That announcement came one month after he released a statement saying he would run again for the Texas House, confirming he had been endorsed by President Donald Trump and Governor Greg Abbott.
Capriglione has denied the allegations and describes them as a smear campaign
In social media posts since the interview, Grace made other disturbing allegations regarding Capriglione’s alleged sexual fantasies.
She claimed that Capriglione, a while ago, detailed how one of his daughters had an upcoming bake sale and he fantasized about ejaculating into the cookie batter.
“His fantasy was, when no one was looking, that he would produce ‘baby gravy’ to put into the cookie batter before they were baked, because it was a turn-on for him … to know that all of the girls in the neighborhood would be consuming what he expelled,” she claimed in a TikTok video.
In a statement to the Texas Tribune, Capriglione admitted to having the affair but denied all other allegations and described them as a “smear and slander” campaign against him.
“In holding the wealthy, the powerful, the corporate elites, and the Austin insiders to account, I knew I would face serious blowback,” Capriglione said. “I knew they’d attack me and come after me.”
“I had no idea the depths to which they would sink, their appalling gutter politics, or the lies and defamation they would spread,” he added.
“Years ago, I selfishly had an affair,” Capriglione continued. “I’m not proud of this.
“Thank God my wife and family forgave me, and we moved past it and have the strong marriage we do today.”
He described the other allegations made by Grace as “categorically false” and “easily disproven,” adding, “I have never, nor would I ever, pay for an abortion.”
“Lying and defaming me, twisting and manipulating old events for political purposes, is wrong and I will be pursuing my legal remedies,” Capriglione said.
He concluded the statement by stating he would return his “full attention” to his legislative duties.
But some Republicans have called for the allegations to be investigated and for Capriglione to resign if he did pay for abortions.
Fellow Republican Representative Briscoe Cain said in a post on X: “If he had any role in killing babies—he should resign.”