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“If he was more open to learning from our community we could have helped with that wig,” one queer content creator wrote on social media.
Former president Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, is being called out for hypocrisy after an image circulated of somebody who appears to be Vance dressed as a woman. A photo allegedly showing Vance dressed indrag during his Yale Law School days ignited calls of hypocrisy given the Republican’s long-standing opposition to LGBTQ+ rights.
The image, which shows a man purported to be Vance wearing a blonde wig, black blouse, and a skirt, was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by podcast host and social media influencer Matt Bernstein on Sunday. It shows the person in women’s clothing playing the drinking game, beer pong. The post quickly lit up the internet, with over 10 million views on Monday just on X. The image began trending under the hashtag #SofaLoren, a play on the name of Italian actress Sophia Loren and a reference to an unproven claim that Vance once engaged in sexual activity with a piece of furniture.
The picture was allegedly taken at a party in 2012 by one of Vance’s classmates while he was studying at Yale. The image was shared within a group chat before being sent to Bernstein by Travis Whitfill, a Yale alum. Whitfill confirmed his role in surfacing the image, writing on X, “I was the source of the photo (sent through friends to you). This was taken in 2012 (the same time I was at Yale). Photo was taken by a classmate and sent to me. Thanks for sharing.”
Whitfill did not immediately respond to The Advocate’s request for comment.
The Trump-Vance campaign has not remarked on the image nor responded to The Advocate’s request for comment.
The drag photo stands in opposition to Vance’s political positions. In recent years, he has positioned himself as a staunch opponent of LGBTQ+ rights, mainly focusing on limiting transgender rights and access to gender-affirming care.
Human Rights Campaign national press secretary Brandon Wolf pointed to Vance’s hypocrisy in remarks to The Advocate.
“Isn’t it interesting that MAGA politicians like JD Vance think that they are the only ones who deserve freedoms? Americans are tired of hypocrites who want to tell everyone else what to read, what to wear, and who to be,” Wolf said. “That’s why Trump, Vance, and their Project 2025 nightmare are flailing. As Governor Walz says, we’d all be better off if MAGA politicians followed a Golden Rule: mind your own damn business.”
Vance introduced the so-called Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which seeks to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors, and his efforts to erase LGBTQ+ identities from the U.S. census. Vance has also introduced the Passport Sanity Act, which aims to ban the use of “X” gender markers on U.S. passports, and has repeatedly spread false rhetoric about LGBTQ+ issues, including labeling those who oppose anti-LGBTQ+ legislation as “groomers.”
GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis condemned Vance’s apparent double standards in a statement to The Advocate.
“What would you call an anti-LGBTQ extremist who, as it turns out, has a history of dressing in drag? A hypocrite,” Ellis said. “The anti-LGBTQ hate that Vance spews is in stark contrast to the law student who counted a trans classmate as a close friend for years and apparently dressed in drag himself. Anyone who has donned drag knows that it is not harmful: drag can be beautiful, fun, and empowering, like any artistic performance.”
Vance’s opposition to affirming one’s identity contrasts starkly with his decision to change his name multiple times throughout his life. Born James Donald Bowman, Vance changed his surname to Hamel after his stepfather before eventually settling on Vance to honor his grandmother.
The photo controversy has sparked a wave of reactions on social media, with comments on Bernstein’s platforms being particularly unrelenting. On Instagram, singer Demi Lovato quipped, “Introducing Anitta Couch!” while drag queen and climate activist Pattie Gonia wrote, “sashay the f*ck away jd.” Teacher and content creator Flint Del Sol added, “If he was more open to learning from our community we could have helped with that wig.”
On X, one user commented, “I’ll give JD Vance this—his eyeliner is totally on point in that photo... so much better than whatever 90s boy band guy liner he’s got going on now.”
Another emphasized the more significant issue: “Remember: It’s not about J.D. Vance in drag; it’s the hypocrisy.”
On Monday morning, Bernstein posted a second photo of the person, who appears to be Vance, this time striking a pose while dressed in drag.
“A second photo has hit my inbox,” Bernstein wrote alongside the image, which immediately went viral.
“Vance’s anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, much of it rooted in the lie that queer adults who perform in drag—and all queer adults—are somehow dangerous, is disgusting and wildly out of touch with Americans’ values,” Ellis said. “Voters by and large reject campaign tactics rooted in anti-LGBTQ hate, and Americans support equality for LGBTQ people.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a second photo of a person who looks like JD Vance dressed in drag.
