WH bans 3 guests after topless Pride party video gos viral

Washington, June 14

Three guests who attended an LGBTQ+ Pride party at the White House on June 10 have been banned from attending future events after a video of them posing topless on the South Lawn went viral on social media.

Rose Montoya, a trans woman, influencer and advocate who is one of the three banned guests, had posted the 58-second video of the White House event in which she is seen topless, with her hands over her chest, next to two shirtless trans men, the BBC reported.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the act was "unacceptable" and "unfair" to others.

"It was unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families. This behaviour is inappropriate and disrespectful for any event at 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," the BBC quoted Jean-Pierre as saying.

Following widespread backlash, Montoya posted a TikTok video in which she said that she had no intention of being vulgar and being topless in Washington was legal.

She also questioned why her chest was now seen by some as inappropriate when, she said, before she came out as transgender, it was not.

"My trans masculine friends were showing off their top surgery scars and living in joy, and I wanted to join them... And because it is perfectly within the law of Washington D.C., I decided to join them and cover my nipples just to play it safe."

In the video, captioned "free the nipple", she added: "I was simply living my joy and my truth and existing in my body."

Attended by hundreds of guests, this was the largest Pride party ever to be hosted at the White House.