Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, is weighing in on the debate around the transgender influencer who posed topless at the White House Pride event. On Thursday, a reporter said at a press conference asked Karine whether there is going to be a future code of conduct for the White House guests.
To this, Jean-Pierre replied, “The behavior was timely unacceptable, we’ve been clear about that. It’s been unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families. So, we’re gonna continue to be clear on that. That type of behavior is, as I said, unacceptable; it’s not appropriate, it’s disrespectful, and it really does not reflect the event that we hosted to celebrate the LGBTQ+ families.”
She also added, “The individuals in the video will certainly not be invited to future White House events. This has not occurred before, it was not a normal thing that happened under this administration, but we’ve been very clear about how we say this particular behavior.”
Karine Jean-Pierre made history by being the first out LGBTQ person and the first woman of color to hold the position of White House spokesperson. Recently, in April 2023, she came into the spotlight about her views on trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
When a reporter asked Karine about Mulvaney being attacked by anti-trans supporters, Karine said, “I don’t have any calls to review at this time. And I don’t have anything specifically to say about this report. But what I can say, [is] when a transgender American posts a video about a brand of beer they enjoy, and it leads to bomb threats, it’s clear that level of violence and vitriol against transgender Americans needs to stop.”
She went on, “The administration is going to do everything that they can to protect LGBTQI+ people who are under attack — and that’s what we’re seeing especially in statehouses. And so we’re going to fight alongside them to protect their rights. They should be allowed to be who they are, who they want to be… And we should be able to speak out, and others should be able to speak out against hate and discrimination.”
