Topline
The White House banned trans influencer Rose Montoya on Tuesday after she sparked a firestorm after posting a video showing her briefly going topless during a Pride event at the White House over the weekend.
The White House banned trans influencer Rose Montoya from future events after she posted a video … [+]
Key Facts
The White House called the incident “inappropriate and disrespectful” and said it’s “not reflective of the event we hosted to celebrate LGBTQI+ families” or other guests.
Montoya, who uses she/they pronouns, has not publicly commented on the White House’s decision to ban her from future events, but defended herself on social media from the growing backlash Monday.
While conservatives took the lead in blasting Montoya, in comments on Twitter and Instagram, many seeming allies also were roundly critical of her behavior.
Key Background
On Monday, Montoya—a model and influencer—posted a video compilation of her time at the White House’s Pride event over the weekend. Among the many clips was a video of Montoya flashing her breasts while on the White House lawn. While the video immediately went viral and led to outrage from conservative commentators, the White House did not say anything publicly until Tuesday when they announced Montoya’s ban. In her video, she explained that she wanted to join trans males at the event who were showing off their top surgery scars “and living in joy, and I wanted to join them.”
Chief Critic
The outrage over Montoya’s behavior was quick from many conservative commentators. Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly retweeted an article from the conservative news website the Daily Caller and described the incident as an “F-you to normal Americans who find this sh&! deeply offensive.” Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro quote-tweeted an article detailing the White House’s condemnation of Montoya’s behavior and said, “We. Don’t. Believe. You.” Libs of TikTok—a popular Twitter account with 2.2 million followers that has become influential in conservative media and shares anti-LGBTQ+ content—quote-tweeted the video and called the behavior “a disgrace to our country.”
Tangent
Also on Tuesday, The Guardian published an interview with Montoya discussing the lack of paid partnerships during this year’s Pride month. She said this time of year is usually very busy but Montoya, along with her trans friends and colleagues, have “noticed less brands seeing partnerships and smaller budgets for Pride campaigns.” This comes after boycotts on a number of brands like Target, Kohl’s and Bud Light who have publicly expressed their support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Further Reading
‘They’re Caving To Bullies’: Queer Influencers In The US Say Brands Have Gone Quiet (The Guardian)
Target Removes Pride Items After Conservative Firestorm—Sparking Criticism From LGBTQ Groups (Forbes)
LGBTQ Culture Wars Increasingly Target Companies—And Nike, Adidas And Ford Are Only The Latest (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/06/13/after-topless-incident-at-white-house-sparks-uproar-administration-denounces-trans-influencer/