‘Don’t be weak and gay’: Republican candidate sparks outrage with homophobic campaign video
“Stay f***ing hard" adds Valentina Gomez, a far-right candidate for Missouri secretary of state, in the clip
Valentina Gomez, a far-right candidate for Missouri secretary of state, has caused outrage with a new anti-gay campaign video.
The Republican shared the offending footage in which she is seen jogging on the streets of St. Louis to social media on Sunday (12 May 2024).
Giving the unintentionally hilarious clip a foreboding edge is the protective vest worn by the 25-year-old – and the fact she’s running through Soulard, a neighbourhood popular with LGBTQs.
‘Don’t be weak and gay – stay f***ing hard’ – Valentina Gomez
“In America, you can be anything you want to be,” Gomez says in the video, before adding: “Don’t be weak and gay. Stay fucking hard.”
The video then cuts to a photo of Gomez by a truck wearing a National Rifle Association hat with a gun in each hand, an American flag at her side.
Addressing backlash to the video, Gomez said on social media on Wednesday: “I speak the truth, and I am waking up the lions to save America. Weakness will get us nowhere. The gloves are off, and I am here to protect and fight for Missouri.”
“Currently taking action”
The video features Lupe Fiasco’s song ‘The Show Goes On’.
Fiasco, who has previously spoken out against anti-gay stigma in hip hop, subsequently said in a statement that he was “aware” of the use of the song and “currently taking action.”
Mocking the clip in a social media post, Jason Kander, a former Democratic secretary of state in Missouri, said: “It’s so refreshing to see a female GOP candidate who never served in the military doing the whole veteran cosplay, stolen valor [sic], bigotry as a substitute for strength routine as well as any man.”
Gomez, an immigrant from Colombia, has previously stoked controversy by trolling transgender people in her camping videos. In February, she was also seen torching LGBTQ-inclusive books in another viral video.
Gomez, a real estate investor, previously used the term “weak and gay” in a video in March to criticise countries that ban flamethrowers, suggesting it is becoming her campaign slogan.