Republican who called drag queens ‘paedophiles’ seen dancing at Drag Race star’s show

Resurfaced video footage of controversial Republican candidate Valentina Gomez, who has urged voters not to be “weak and gay” and who called drag queens paedophiles, shows her dancing at a RuPaul’s Drag Race star’s show.

Gomez, who ran unsuccessfully to be Missouri secretary of state in August, became a contentious figure on the campaign trail because of her offensive diatribe and stunts, including showing herself using a flamethrower to burn LGBTQ+ literature and attacking Democrat Barbara Phifer for having a transgender grandchild.

Now, a video showing Gomez dancing at a New Year’s Eve party at New York’s Hudson Yards mall, where RuPaul’s Drag Race season 10 winner Aquaria provided entertainment, has been shared with LGBTQ Nation.

In a statement to the publication, Gomez confirmed the validity of the video, including a slur in her response.

“You guys call me homophobic and an enemy of the pronoun community, but I was waiting for this video to surface so that I can show your hypocrisy because clearly I was having a great time, and I get along with everybody.

“I don’t care how you identify, shaking your genitals in front of children should land you in prison. Make pedophiles afraid again.”

Gomez provided a similar statement to PinkNews. She said: “When I dance at a party it’s controversial but when a pedophile shakes their genitals in front of children is considered normal. F****ts are the problem, and you guys don’t like it because I call out your pedophilic behavior.

“My hips don’t lie, and neither do I. Let Dancing With The Stars know I am the only one who can shock their ratings and Make them Great Again.”

Gomez’s defeat in the Missouri primary, where she finished sixth out of eight candidates, polling about 7.4 per cent of the vote, followed a campaign that was littered with homophobic and transphobic buzzwords and conspiracy theories.

In February, she claimed she was “censored”, after a video of her burning LGBTQ+ books with a flamethrower was removed from Instagram.

“This is what I will do to the grooming books when I become secretary of state,” she said in the video. “These books come from a Missouri public library. When I’m in office, they will burn.”

The two books she set on fire appeared to be Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens, and Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia.

Three months later she shared a video of herself jogging through a historically LGBTQ+ neighbourhood while telling voters not to be “weak and gay”. The clip, which tagged controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, then showed a photo of Gomez proudly holding a gun before focusing on her “woman on a mission” campaign poster. 

In June, she took to social media to hit out at Phifer, a former United Methodist pastor who now sits in the state house of representatives and who is still in the running for the secretary of state’s job, writing: “You have a trans grandchild. That means you raised a groomer. You failed your children, and they failed your grandchildren. Also, you’re irrelevant and belong in a nursing home.”

That same month, Gomez implied that basketball star Brittney Griner was anti-American, calling her an unpatriotic lesbian.

“Brittney Griner should be rotting in a Russian prison, not going to the Olympics,” Gomez said in the 20-second clip.

She captioned the post: “The Olympics are about meritocracy, not DEI [diversity, equality and inclusion]”. 

Griner was held in Russia for 10 months after being arrested in February 2022, when the authorities found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. The WNBA star was sentenced to nine years on drug charges but was released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap, which involved arms dealer Viktor Bout.

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