The leak of college drag images labels JD Vance as a ‘hypocrite’

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Photos of US Senator JD Vance dressed in drag from his time at Yale Law School in 2012 have surfaced, eliciting considerable condemnation and allegations of hypocrisy. The photographs, which show Vance sporting a blonde wig, a shirt, and a skirt, have sparked controversy about his public image and behavior.

The uproar started when Matt Bernstein, a user on X (previously known as Twitter), tweeted one of the images with the message, “New: I have obtained a photo of JD Vance in drag while at Yale Law School.” Travis Whitfill, an assistant professor at Yale, eventually emerged as the photo’s source. Whitfill confirmed his involvement, saying, “Hi Matt. I took the snapshot and sent it to you through friends. I took this in 2012, during my time at Yale. “A student took a photo and forwarded it to me.” Thank you for sharing😘.” “Whitfill told the Daily Beast that the photo came from Vance’s classmates’ group chat and most likely started on Facebook .Vance took the photo during a Halloween party. . A few days after the initial post, Bernstein shared a second photograph along with the message, “A second photo has hit Minbox.” As the photographs spread, they rapidly became the target of internet derision. One person joked, “Feeling cute.” One person joked about running for Vice President in the future, while another suggested impersonating Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

Despite the global circulation of the photos and the accompanying jokes, several individuals backed Vance, claiming that the images were being misconstrued. One person commented, “People view wearing a wig to a college party as drag? That is an insult to my drag buddies at the balls and houses.” Another participant commented, “I can’t tell which possibility is worse: you all not being able to distinguish a party costume from actual drag because you think it’s normal for men to dress like women, or you all knowing it’s a costume and being absurdly intellectually dishonest about it.”

George Santos, who faced similar attention in 2023 after images of him in drag surfaced, supported Vance. Santos denied the charges, stating it “definitely” wasn’t a drag. “The guy went to a costume party, put on a freaking cheap wig from Party City or something similar,” Santos told the reporter. “To call that drag is disingenuous, and I believe most guys have experimented with gender-bender costumes at some point in their lives,” Santos told the reporter.

However, Vance’s detractors were quick to point out that their concern was not with the act of dressing in drag but rather with the senator’s perceived hypocrisy. “Don’t call JD Vance odd because he dressed in drag. “Call him a hypocrite and a bigot for demonizing people who wear drag,” one person said on X. Another person shared a similar opinion, writing, “I don’t share this to shame those who do drag, but rather to shame those who attack drag while having a history of enjoying the art form themselves.” What are your opinions on the resurfaced photographs? Tell us what you think!

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