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Politico is facing massive backlash for publishing risqué photos of North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn wearing lingerie without providing any context.
Not until after the photos were published was the context revealed by Cawthorn himself, who posted a tweet admitting that he’d worn the lingerie while taking “goofy vacation photos during a game on a cruise.”
The End of Men@TuckerCarlson https://t.co/rfNVs8gPPt
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 22, 2022
The tweet even linked to a piece from Cruise Critic talking about Royal Caribbean’s extremely popular Quest game show.
“What Royal Caribbean event has you sharing your underwear, putting lipstick on strangers and screaming at the top of your lungs? It’s the Quest game show, the adults-only scavenger hunt that ranks as a cruise can’t-miss,” the Cruise Critic piece reads.
Look:
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?
They’re running out of things to throw at me…
Share your most embarrassing vacay pics in the replies🤦♂️https://t.co/YicRk0Albu
— Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) April 22, 2022
Only after the fact did Politico modify its story to add a tiny update featuring the missing context from the permanently disabled congressman.
“After this story published, Cawthorn tweeted that the photos were taken of him during a game on a cruise before he was elected to Congress,” the one-sentence update reads.
The rest of the Politico piece attacks the congressman over his staunch Christian beliefs in an attempt to portray him as a hypocrite for having worn lingerie.
At issue is his fierce stance against sexual perversion and the ongoing, society-wide emasculation of men.
“Cawthorn, 26, was raised in a conservative Baptist community in Henderson County, North Carolina, and has staked his political persona on arch-traditional Christian principles and the insistence of the importance of a kind of hypermasculinity,” the piece complains.
Oh no, @CawthornforNC played a drinking game on a cruise ship before he was a congressman!
Pathetic @politico weasel hit job by “journalist” @michaelkruse… https://t.co/wjCkqOnu8l
— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) April 22, 2022
This is a big miss from POLITICO given Rep Cawthorn’s explanation and the article he linked to about the cruise ship game. They basically accuse him of being a hypocrite and a bad Christian. pic.twitter.com/ED2oBduX8x
— Amber Athey (@amber_athey) April 22, 2022
I’d expect to see these photos in a tabloid because they’re a bit embarrassing but a news outlet running them with seemingly no attempt to find out when/where they were taken is a bad look.
— Amber Athey (@amber_athey) April 22, 2022
The context of those Madison Cawthorne pictures is him playing a game on a cruise ship years ago. This is not a scandal, nor does it reveal anything about him.
It does reveal that Politico remains a garbage outlet, though. They knew the context and chose to withhold it.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) April 22, 2022
Anyone who has ever been on a cruise knows the silly games the cruise directors come up with. My husband (all the men) had to dress as a bride – best team won. It was hilarious. Context is everything – that’s why libs hide it.
— Maria Bauwin (@marijoh350) April 23, 2022
Politico’s “report” is strongly believed to be nothing more than a hit piece written on behalf of the Democrat Party given its mention of so many unrelated things.
For instance, the piece mentions Cawthorn’s criticisms of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Cawthorn, who was paralyzed from the waist down as a passenger in a car accident in Florida in 2014, in recent months has called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a ‘thug,’ suggested teetotaling Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has a drinking problem, and racked up a collection of traffic transgressions including speeding, driving with expired tags and driving with a revoked license,” it reads.
It’s unclear what any of this has to do with him wearing lingerie, let alone wearing lingerie while participating in a popular Royal Caribbean game show, Quest, that’s specifically geared for adults.
“Quest is uproariously fun, supremely competitive, and it’s definitely for adults only, which is why it’s often scheduled after 11 p.m.,” according to Cruise Critic.
In defense of @CawthornforNC, cruises really are like that! @POLITICO had a weak, desperate report. Apologies for crappy images in this 🧵, as this cruise was in 2013 when my phone/photo taking abilities were of different quality. https://t.co/yqHHBzlNEp
— Rebecca Downs (@RebeccaRoseGold) April 22, 2022
The last night of the Royal Caribbean cruise in August 2013 they had an adults-only game where willing male participants were voluntarily dressed up in drag by female participants to take part in a fashion show. pic.twitter.com/083vpmfvWc
— Rebecca Downs (@RebeccaRoseGold) April 22, 2022
Politico’s report is so sleazy, critics say, that even Rolling Stone magazine has come to Cawthorn’s defense — or at least a little bit.
Look:
Heck, even @ryanbort with the @RollingStone is wondering why this is a story… https://t.co/HZcmpGkLwA
— Rebecca Downs (@RebeccaRoseGold) April 22, 2022
“Cawthorn looks like he’s having a good time in the photos, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a man putting on some lingerie,” the piece linked to above notes.
Though on the other hand, it then goes on to bash him for being “an opponent of transgender rights,” i.e., the supposed “right” for biological men to compete against biological women.
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