So what’s actually true, George? Fabulous Republican Santos has slammed “false” claims he was a drag queen, called allegations that he let a dog die “crazy” and attacked the media for making “outrageous claims about my life” after a litany of lying was revealed
- Beleaguered Republican Rep. George Santos of New York hits back at reports he appeared as a drag queen named Kitara in Brazil 15 years ago
- According to Portal, two acquaintances claimed he entered drag pageants
- In a 2008 photo, he is identified as one of two people who do cross-dressing
The embattled newcomer to Republican Rep. George Santos of New York is under mounting pressure to resign as key details of his backstory continue to be uncovered. So far he has refused to resign
New York Republican Assemblyman George Santos denied two unseemly allegations Thursday morning amid questions mounting about the lawmaker’s unraveling backstory in the freshman.
He called claims that he “performed” as a drag queen named Kitara in Brazil around 2008 “false,” while calling allegations that he cheated a disabled veteran out of medical dollars for his ailing dog “insane.”
Santos, who is under mounting pressure to resign as details of his backstory continue to emerge, has been identified in a 15-year-old photograph showing two drag queens on Brazil’s Icaraí Beach.
A Brazilian drag queen named Eula Rochard told an independent journalist Marisa Kabas that she was the other person in the photo and named Santos, now 34, as her friend next to her.
But the newly minted congressman condemned the claim as “false” and accused the media of chasing “outrageous” stories.
“The recent media obsession claiming that I am or ‘performing’ as a drag queen is categorically false,” Santos wrote on Twitter Thursday morning.
“The media continues to make outrageous claims about my life as I work to deliver results. I don’t let it distract me or worry me.’
He has rejected all calls to resign, and since arriving on Capitol Hill he appears to have aligned himself with conservative lawmakers — many of whom have made opposition to community drag shows a cornerstone of their culture war platforms.
But in the 2008 photo, the person identified as Santos appears to be wearing a strapless red top or dress while sporting longer brown hair. While the photo is grainy, some makeup elements are visible.
His Democratic critics have accused Santos of hypocrisy for aligning himself with people whose ideologies view the drag community as an object of contempt.
The Santos Convention Bureau did not respond to a request from Wednesday night.
On Thursday morning, Santos hit out at claims he once performed as a drag queen in Brazil
Two acquaintances of the ailing congressman told Portal in a report late Wednesday that Santos participated in Brazilian drag shows a decade and a half ago.
One of those people was Rouchard, who claimed Santos had been involved in the Rio de Janeiro cross-dressing scene since around 2005.
Rochard reportedly recalled that Santos was called “Anthony” rather than “George” back then. She said she was in her late teens when she met Santos.
George Anthony Devolder Santos is the full name of the congressman.
“Anthony Devolder” was also the name Santos used when he allegedly cheated a disabled veteran out of charity money to save his dying dog.
Santos responded to the allegation on Twitter on Thursday. The reports that I would let a dog die are shocking and insane.
“My work in animal welfare was the work of love and hard work. In the last 24 hours I have received pictures of dogs that I have helped trim down over the years along with messages of support,” he wrote. ‘These distractions won’t stop me!’
This photo emerged on Wednesday and is said to show Santos, now 34, crossdressing in 2008
Navy veteran Rich Osthoff, who was homeless at the time, told CNN he was connected to Santos because of his experience rescuing animals when his service dog, a pit bull named Sapphire, developed a tumor.
Santos reportedly set up a GoFundMe for the dog. But after raising $3,000, he reportedly became hard to reach and eventually disappeared with the money.
The dog died.
And Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have guaranteed that Santos will have his own workload in Congress, despite growing concerns about his place on Capitol Hill.
He will serve on two committees at the 118th Congress – the Small Business Panel and the Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
Meanwhile, Santos is under investigation by federal and state authorities, as well as a congressional ethics probe into how he came to his recent personal fortune, including the $700,000 he donated to his 2022 campaign.