U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY), a serial liar who has made countless false claims about his work and education history, family, and heritage, now insists he is not a drag queen.
An MSNBC journalist spoke with a drag queen in Brazil, Eula Rochard, who says she knew Santos. She “said everyone knew him as Anthony (*never* George), or by his drag name, Kitara.” She provided a 2008 photo showing a drag queen with the name “Kitara Ravache.”
In addition to “George Santos,” the GOP congressman has also used the names “Anthony Devolder,” “George Anthony Devolder Santos,” and “Anthony Zabrovsky.” The latter he reportedly used to appeal to Jewish donors.
An LGBTQ activist in Brazil in late December and on New Year’s Day had tweeted that people should ask the GOP lawmaker “about ‘Kitara Ravache’,” as NCRM reported Wednesday.
Late Wednesday night that MSNBC journalist,Marisa Kabas, posted additional photos she says are of Santos as “Kitara Ravache,” and a link to her substance newsletter where she pens “The Daily Santos.”
Thursday morning Santos denied he was ever a drag queen.
“The most recent obsession from the media claiming that I am a drag Queen or ‘performed’ as a drag Queen is categorically false,” he wrote on Twitter.
“The media continues to make outrageous claims about my life while I am working to deliver results,” Santos also claimed. “I will not be distracted nor fazed by this.”
Reuters overnight extended previous reporting from other outlets, stating that Santos “competed as a drag queen in Brazilian beauty pageants 15 years ago, two acquaintances told Reuters on Wednesday, adding to contrasts that have drawn criticism of the openly gay Republican congressman’s staunchly conservative views.”
Santos has admitted to fabricating parts of his résumé.
“I’m not going to make excuses for this, but a lot of people overstate in their resumes, or twist a little bit,” he said last month, CNN reported. “I’m not saying I’m not guilty of that.”
On Wednesday, Vanity Fair published a report, “George Santos’s 11 Most Absurd Lies and Cons.”
Reuters’ report adds that “Rochard said the congressman was a ‘poor’ drag queen in 2005, with a simple black dress, but in 2008 ‘he came back to Niteroi with a lot of money,’ and a flamboyant pink dress to show for it. Santos competed in a drag beauty pageant that year but lost, Rochard said.”