White House deems trans activist’s Pride Month event stunt as inappropriate and disrespectful.

Rose Montoya, a transgender activist and internet influencer, made headlines when she shook hands with the president of the United States on the South Lawn of the White House on June 10. But it was what happened next that caused a stir.

Seconds later, accompanied by two shirtless men, Montoya undressed above the waist, revealing her breasts before covering them again with her hands. The moment was captured on video, posted online, and quickly became widely shared and sensational theater.

Montoya and fellow activists performed their demonstration at a Pride Month event that the White House held to celebrate LGBT people and their history and accomplishments, and to call attention to the challenges they face.

Controversy and Condemnation

The surprise, provocative, and outlandish performance upset and drew the condemnation of the White House, which called it disrespectful. Other and more pointed criticism claimed that the activists co-opted and sacrificed at least some of the goodwill of the event, and also placed grandstanding and self-aggrandizement ahead of the cause.

Denouncing the Action

“This behavior is inappropriate and disrespectful for any event at the White House,” said a statement released by 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.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the controversy in her June 13 briefing.

“The behavior was simply unacceptable. We’ve been very clear about that,” said Jean-Pierre at the briefing. “It was unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families. So, you know, we’re going to continue to be clear on that, and that type of behavior is, as I said, unacceptable. It’s inappropriate, it’s disrespectful. And it really does not reflect the event that we hosted to celebrate the LGBTQ+ families.”

In a statement sent to The Epoch Times, Rodrigo Heng-Lehtine, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality/NCTE Action Fund, said: “This behavior was inappropriate, and it is important to understand that the actions of a single individual do not define an entire community. Transgender people have families and cherish family-friendly events just like anyone else.”

LGBT Influencer Creates a Stir, Is Not Sorry

Despite the backlash, Montoya remains unapologetic. With a massive following on social media, including 575,000 fans on TikTok and 104,000 followers on Instagram, as well as almost 11,600 followers on Twitter, Montoya is a force to be reckoned with.

Montoya responded to the controversy:

“I wanted to make a statement. I wanted to be able to have a platform and represent the people who don’t have a platform,” Montoya said in a video posted on TikTok. “I wanted to represent the people who are too scared to go to events like that, the people who are too scared to be themselves, the people who are told that they’re not good enough or that they don’t belong there.”

Love it or hate it, Montoya’s performance has sparked a conversation about the role of activism and the boundaries of acceptable behavior, even at events meant to celebrate diversity and inclusion.