Rose Montoya, the trans influencer who went topless at Biden’s White House Pride event is facing a lot of backlash on social media for her reactions. Now, she has reiterated her choice to forgo clothes during President Biden’s Pride Month ceremony on Monday.
Being topless is legal in Washington, D.C., according to Montoya, a biological male who is transgender. The TikTok influencer stated that she was in favor of “freeing the nipple” and claimed that those who disagreed were merely admitting that “trans women are women.”
“It has recently come to my attention that conservatives are trying to use the video of me topless at the White House to try to call the community groomers, etc., and I would just like to say that first of all, going topless in Washington, D.C., is legal and I fully support the movement of freeing the nipple because why is my chest deemed inappropriate or illegal when I show it off,” Montoya said in a video posted to TikTok. “However, before coming out as trans, it was not.
She added, “My transmasculine friends are showing off their top surgery scars and living in joy, and I wanted to join them. And because it is perfectly within the law in Washington, D.C., I decided to join them and cover my nipples just to play it safe.”
Montoya is correct that it is legal to wear no top in Washington, D.C., but the White House is federal property, therefore local D.C. rules do not always apply there. The legislation states that “it shall not be lawful for any person or persons to make any obscene or indecent exposure of his or her person, to make any lewd, obscene, or indecent sexual proposal, or to commit any other lewd, obscene, or indecent act in the District of Columbia.”
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The White House is seen behind Montoya and another unnamed transgender activist in the original video, which was uploaded on TikTok and features them baring their breasts on the South Lawn. Many reporters have tried to reach out to the White House via email for comment.
