Rep. George Santos denies ever having been a drag queen - NBC News

Embattled Republican Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., said claims that helium performed arsenic a resistance queen are “categorically false.” His denial comes soon aft a Brazilian resistance performer shared connected societal media an representation of herself and different idiosyncratic successful drag, whom she identified arsenic the recently elected congressman.

“The astir caller obsession from the media claiming that I americium a resistance Queen oregon ‘performed’ arsenic a resistance Queen is categorically false,” Santos, who has been the taxable of planetary headlines for weeks for fabricating parts of his résumé, tweeted Thursday morning. “The media continues to marque outrageous claims astir my beingness portion I americium moving to present results.”

Last week, Brazilian resistance creator Eula Rochard posted an representation connected Facebook and Instagram of herself with a idiosyncratic wearing a reddish feathery dress, agleam reddish lipstick and dangling chandelier earrings. Rochard, who is identified arsenic Eula Rorard successful the photo, claims the different idiosyncratic successful resistance went by the signifier sanction Kitara Ravache and is, successful fact, Santos. 

“Me with the American Republican congressman who wouldn’t permission my house,” Rochard wrote successful Portuguese connected the Facebook post. “Whoever said I was a liar wound your tongue.”

NBC News has not independently verified the images posted connected Rochard’s societal media accounts, which she said primitively appeared successful a Brazilian paper successful 2008. As of Thursday afternoon, the images had been wide circulated connected societal media and quality websites.

Journalist Joâo Fragah told NBC News helium had interviewed Kitara Ravache successful an speech captured connected video.

Fragah said helium was precise assured Santos was the idiosyncratic helium interviewed and was the aforesaid idiosyncratic successful the photos Rochard shared. However, the writer noted that the interrogation was done a agelong clip ago.

Fragah said the performer had been "name-dropping" and trying to get the media's attraction erstwhile the interrogation took place.

Rochard told NBC News that she met Santos successful astir 2005 and past saw him successful 2008 done Niterói’s cheery community, but added that she lone knew him by his resistance name, Kitara Ravache, and Anthony (Santos has gone by assorted combinations of the sanction George Anthony Devolder Santos, the afloat sanction listed connected a Federal Election Commission filing from 2019). Rochard said she saw a photograph of Santos arsenic a precocious elected U.S. lawmaker successful a Brazilian quality outlet and recognized him. When asked wherefore she decided to station the representation that she claims to beryllium of herself and Santos, she said, “Because I wanted to.”

Rochard, who described herself arsenic the “RuPaul” of Brazil, said she knew Santos erstwhile helium was “coming up” successful the resistance satellite and said she was a mentor to him. She described him arsenic having an “outgrown consciousness of grandeur” and added that “he lied each the time.”

Rochard’s claims astir Santos, who has positioned himself arsenic a blimpish Republican and has aligned himself with immoderate of the party’s astir hard-right lawmakers, travel arsenic the GOP has thrust the centuries-old creation signifier of resistance into the halfway of the simmering civilization war. 

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves the Capitol aft a ballot connected Jan. 12.Samuel Corum / Sipa USA via AP file

At slightest six states are considering bills this word that would prohibition minors from attending resistance performances and question to classify immoderate concern that hosts resistance shows arsenic a cabaret oregon a “sexually oriented business,” according to an NBC News analysis of caller authorities targeting LGBTQ rights and queer life.

Among the authorities is simply a Tennessee measure that would prohibition resistance queens from performing connected nationalist oregon backstage spot successful the beingness of a minor. If enacted, repetition offenders could beryllium charged with a felony and look up to six years successful prison.

The anti-LGBTQ authorities besides coincides with a caller question of far-right protests and threats directed astatine resistance events.

Last year, determination were astatine slightest 141 protests and important threats aimed astatine resistance events successful 48 states, according to LGBTQ advocacy radical GLAAD. And a study from the Crowd Counting Consortium, a nationalist involvement and scholarly task that documents crowds and contention successful the U.S., recovered a steep summation successful anti-LGBTQ demonstrations implicit the past 2 years, with a communal people past twelvemonth being drag-related events.

A lawyer for Santos did not instrumentality NBC News’ petition for remark regarding the congressman’s stance connected the projected policies related to resistance performances. In a erstwhile interview, Santos told NBC News that helium sees nary contradiction betwixt his individuality arsenic a cheery antheral and his party’s argumentation stances, saying, “I person ne'er experienced favoritism successful the Republican Party.”

Questions implicit Santos’ biography archetypal erupted connected Dec. 19, erstwhile The New York Times published a bombshell investigation questioning whether helium fabricated aspects of his education, enactment past and finances. Santos aboriginal admitted to “embellishing” his qualifications and apologized for having done so. 

Democratic lawmakers, arsenic good arsenic several Republicans, have since called for Santos to resign.