Photos have emerged of U.S. Senator JD Vance, reportedly dressed in drag during his time at Yale Law School in 2012. The images, showing him in a blonde wig, shirt, and skirt, have sparked criticism, with many calling him a hypocrite.
The controversy started when a user named Matt Bernstein shared one of these photos on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “new: i have obtained a photo of jd vance in drag while at yale law school.”
The photo was later confirmed to have come from Travis Whitfill, an assistant professor at Yale. Whitfill admitted he was the source, saying: “Hi Matt, I sent you the photo through friends. It was taken in 2012 when I was at Yale. A classmate took the photo and sent it to me. Thanks for sharing.”
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Whitfill explained that the photo came from a group chat with Vance’s classmates and likely originated on Facebook. It was taken at a Halloween party.
A few days after the initial post, Bernstein shared a second image, captioning it, “a second photo has hit my inbox.”
As the photos spread online, many people started making jokes about them. One person joked, “Feelin’ cute. Might run for Vice President later,” while another said, “What better way to get on Trump’s good side than by trying to look like his Ivanka….”
Even though the photos went viral and sparked a lot of jokes, some people defended Vance, saying the pictures were being taken out of context.
One person commented, “People think wearing a wig at a college party is drag? That’s an insult to my drag friends.”
Another added, “Is it worse that people can’t tell the difference between a party costume and actual drag, or that they know it’s a costume but are being dishonest about it?”
George Santos, who faced similar scrutiny in 2023 when photos of him in drag surfaced, also defended Vance, saying it “definitely” wasn’t drag.
“The guy went to a costume party, put on a cheap wig from Party City or something like that,” Santos said. “Calling that drag is misleading. Lots of guys have dressed up in costumes that play with gender at some point.”
But Vance’s critics pointed out that their issue wasn’t with him dressing in drag—it was with what they saw as his hypocrisy. One person on X wrote, “Don’t call JD Vance weird for wearing drag. Call him a hypocrite and a bigot for attacking others who do.”
Call him a hypocrite and a bigot for demonizing others who wear drag.
— Melanie D’Arrigo (@DarrigoMelanie) August 11, 2024
Another echoed this sentiment, tweeting: “I don’t share this to shame those who do drag, but rather to shame those who attack drag while having a history of enjoying the art form themselves.”
What do you think of these resurfaced photos? Let us know your thoughts!
