White House hits out at influencer who posed topless at Biden’s Pride event
Rose Montoya, a trans model, will not be invited to any future administration events
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The White House has condemned a trans activist who went topless at Joe Biden’s Pride Month event after a video of the South Lawn stunt went viral.
Rose Montoya, a trans model, appeared in the “inappropriate and disrespectful” video with others and will not be invited to any future events, according to a White House statement.
“This behavior is inappropriate and disrespectful for any event at the White House. It is not reflective of the event we hosted to celebrate LGBTQI+ families or the other hundreds of guests who were in attendance. Individuals in the video will not be invited to future events,” the statement read.
Montoya, a TikTok influencer, posted the video from Saturday’s event showing her and another transgender activist baring their chests on the South Lawn with the White House behind them.
She also posted a video in which she interacted with the president, saying “It’s an honour, Mr President. Trans rights are human rights.”
Ms Montoya later said in another TikTok video that being topless was “legal” in Washington DC.
@rosemontoya I had the honor of attending White House Pride, the largest one in history where the pride flag flew for the first time. This is trans joy. We’re here at the white house unapologetically trans, queer, and brown 💕 #foryourpride #pridemonth #whitehouse #potus #flotus #dcpride #trans #transjoy #lgbt ♬ Hi-def Femme - Nomi Ruiz
“I fully support the movement and freeing the nipple,” Ms Montoya said. “My trans masculine friends were showing off their top surgery scars and living in joy, and I wanted to join them. And because it is perfectly within the law of Washington, DC I decided to join them and cover my nipples just to play it safe.”
@rosemontoya Free the nipple #trans ♬ original sound - Rose Montoya
And she added: “I had zero intention of trying to be vulgar or be profane in any way. I was simply living my joy, and my truth, and existing in my body.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments