Aug 12
Viral Pic Surfaces That Allegedly Shows Anti-LGBTQ+ VP Candidate JD Vance in Drag
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The memes and wisecracks started to fly when a photo came to light over the weekend that supposedly shows Trump's anti-LGBTQ+ running mate in drag during his days at Yale law school.
"The unconfirmed image appears to show the Ohio senator dressed in women's clothing and wearing a blonde wig," Newsweek relayed about the photo, which was posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Aug. 11, by Matt Bernstein, who hosts the podcast "A Bit Fruity."
"The image was viewed over 9 million times by Monday morning," Newsweek added.
"The source who surfaced the alleged photo, Travis Whitfill, says the picture was taken by a fellow Yale classmate in 2012, when Vance was attending law school at the university, and sent to him by another friend," the Daily Beast backgrounded.
"It's from a group chat of Vance's fellow classmates and is from a friend of a friend," Whitfill told the Beast. "I believe it was grabbed from Facebook and was taken at a Halloween party."
"The unconfirmed image quickly picked up steam and began trending under the hashtag #SofaLoren," the Beast noted, "a reference to the iconic Italian actress Sophia Loren and false claims that the Republican senator had sex with a couch."
The news outlet relayed that the campaign for the "Hillbilly Elegy" author "did not deny the photo's authenticity" but would not offer any remarks about it.
Gags abounded as the photo spread.
"What would JD Vance's drag name be?" The Lincoln Project, a conservative group that opposes Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, posted on Facebook alongside the image.
"I thought that was his drag name," one gagster cracked in reply.
"Vance has changed his name so many times in his life, who knows what his drag name might be," another person responded in the comments.
Echoed a third: "He has reinvented himself so many times. Does he even know who he really is?"
The photo "comes as the Republican Ohio senator introduced the 'Protect Children's Innocence Act,'" noted Indy 100, "which aims to criminalize facilities that provide gender-affirming care to children."
"He also labeled opponents of the controversial 'Don't Say Gay' bill 'groomers,'" the site went on to note.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
