US Rep. Madison Cawthorn defends ‘goofy vacation photos’ that show him in lingerie
U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn has defended photos published of him wearing women’s lingerie, saying they were taken while he was playing a game on a cruise ship before he ran for office.
“I guess the left thinks goofy vacation photos during a game on a cruise (taken waaay before I ran for Congress) is going to somehow hurt me?” Cawthorn, 26, tweeted Friday. “They’re running out of things to throw at me... Share your most embarrassing vacay pics in the replies.”
The photos were originally published by Politico.
The News & Observer has independently obtained copies of the photos.
Cawthorn’s spokesman Luke Ball has not responded to The N&O’s email and messages for comment.
The first-term Republican is seeking reelection in District 11, in far western North Carolina. He faces seven challengers in the May 17 primary.
He has faced controversy since he was elected. Most recently, he lost support from top Republican leaders in Congress and in North Carolina after claiming that he was invited to orgies with elected officials and had witnessed others doing drugs. He drew criticism as well after saying Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a “thug.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California said recently that Cawthorn would have to earn back his trust. U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis is backing Sen. Chuck Edwards, one of Cawthorn’s challengers. State Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore recently hosted a fundraiser for Edwards.
He has received support from former President Donald Trump, who invited him to speak at his recent “Save America” rally in Selma.
Reaction to photos
Many took to social media Friday night and expressed frustration and confusion about whether people were upset with Cawthorn for wearing lingerie or that he has been hypocritical with his words and actions.
In recent months, Cawthorn has made comments about how there are only “two genders” and that “the left is trying to destroy the nuclear family in America.”
Charlotte Clymer, an LGBTQ rights activist, tweeted Friday night: “I don’t care that Madison Cawthorn likes to wear lingerie in his free time. It doesn’t bother me, and it doesn’t affect me. If he wants to be playful with gender expression, it’s his life.
“I do care that Madison Cawthorn attacks trans people and shames us for living our lives.”
Clymer has been a press secretary at the Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights and lobbying organization that supports LGBTQ equality.
She went on to quote Cawthorn in another tweet repeating his words to Democrats earlier this month: “Your left-wing movement is forcing children to endure radical expressions of sexuality, and yet you can’t even define what a woman is. You can amend a bill, but you’ll never amend biology.
“Madison Cawthorn said this on the House floor just a few weeks ago. You tell me,” she tweeted.
Meanwhile, some of Cawthorn’s seven Republican challengers have spoken out about the photographs.
Edwards’ campaign released a statement to The News & Observer saying, “Be assured these kinds of distractions will not occur with Chuck Edwards. He’s focused on delivering results — not drama — for Western North Carolina.”
Michele Woodhouse, who is also challenging Cawthorn, said Friday that the photos are the latest example of Cawthorn embarrassing his constituents and “dealing with self-inflected wounds.” Woodhouse is a former chair of the 11th Congressional District Republican Party.
“The people of Western North Carolina want a member of Congress that’s making headlines about good work, and serving constituents, and writing good legislation, and rolling back Joe Biden’s failed policies, and helping to give them relief at the grocery store and the gas pump,” Woodhouse said in an interview with the N&O. “Not stories like this that continue to show that Congressman Cawthorn sadly doesn’t have the maturity or the discernment.”
Woodhouse said the several controversies that have dogged Cawthorn in recent months, including the photos published on Friday, have resulted in voters losing trust in him, and will lead to Republicans losing the 11th District if Cawthorn is on the ballot in November’s general election.
“Congressman Cawthorn’s headlines continue to give ammunition to the Democrats, and they already had plenty,” she said. “But now they’ll have even more.”
Driving charges, citations
In addition to Cawthorn’s controversial comments, he has faced traffic citations and charges. On March 3, he was charged in Western North Carolina with driving while his license was revoked, a misdemeanor.
Earlier this week, dash-cam footage authorized for release by a Superior Court judge showed the traffic stop made by a North Carolina State Trooper.
The video showed Cawthorn driving a truck about 10:30 p.m., when he drove left of center and was pulled over. The video, released Tuesday night, shows a trooper telling the congressman that he was being pulled over for having an expired tag.
After the trooper learned he was driving with a revoked license, Cawthorn turned over his license and traded seats with a female passenger.
His court date is May 6.
He has a pending speeding ticket in Polk County for traveling 87 mph in a 70 mph zone. That court date is June 2.
Cruise ship game
Cawthorn included a link to a story about a cruise ship scavenger hunt that leads to men sharing strangers’ underwear.
In a YouTube video of the “adults only” show — not when Cawthorn was in attendance — a host warns guests that people under the age of 18 or those who are easily offended should not watch and should leave the room.
The show has audience members in sexually compromising positions, that at times look like a giant, clothed orgy. Participants are asked at one point to announce their “house stripper name and occupation.”
Avi Bajpai contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 5:57 PM.
