On Sunday night, some of hip-hop's most formidable legends—Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem—delivered the halftime show at Super Bowl LVI.
For Gen X and millennials, the performance was a nostalgic celebration of some of the genre's greatest performers, but for Charlie Kirk—founder of conservative youth PAC Turning Point USA, it was "sexual anarchy."
Kirk lambasted the performance in a widely-ridiculed tweet.
The NFL is now the league of sexual anarchy. This halftime show should not be allowed on television.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 14, 2022
Kirk, who frequently claims to support free speech and revile so-called "cancel culture," said the performance never should've been allowed on television, suggesting this opinion was due to its sexual themes.
But a look into the scandals of Kirk's own organization suggest a level of hypocrisy.
Turning Point USA frequently holds rallies and conservative conventions such as AmericaFest, often frequented by notable Republican elected officials and media personalities.
At one afterparty for AmericaFest in Phoenix at the end of last year, one Turning Point ambassador held a raucous afterparty that featured one woman dancing in American flag lingerie.
Women dancing on stage in American flag themed lingerie at the TPUSA afterparty attended by Matt Gaetz.
TPUSA has now removed their ambassador that threw the party. pic.twitter.com/IHSKPzCg6w
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 13, 2022
The ambassador who threw the party, Lance Johnson, was removed from the organization. The afterparty was also attended by far-right Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, who is currently the subject of a criminal investigation into the potential trafficking of a minor.
At another Turning Point conference in Florida in December of 2020, the organization used brand ambassadors for Bang Energy, known as "Bang Girls," who shot cash into the audience.
People soon began calling Kirk out for hypocrisy, even by fellow right-wingers.
bro the halftime show looked like nick jr compared to the parties yall throw https://t.co/ax3zo1klt1 pic.twitter.com/rqDeA9FB86
— Shoe (@shoe0nhead) February 14, 2022
Can we finally cancel Charlie Kirk and TPUSA to make room for a better RW movement? https://t.co/ZfzoYsRQCT
— SirZerty (@sirzerty) February 14, 2022
People like Charlie Kirk are only holding back the Conservatives https://t.co/oHi9kzV8Hu
— Crappy Number and Cry Army (@BrodanDmsOnly1) February 14, 2022
Actual facts the stuff that goes on at those TPUSA parties are awful https://t.co/VflsmvUgYq
— Boston Zoomer 🇺🇸✝️🐸🧀 (@MassZoomer) February 14, 2022
It was the least Satanic in a long time https://t.co/7KyiVWIgBR
— Trumped Up (@Swanker66) February 14, 2022
But the mockery of Kirk was still bipartisan.
The far right is always so..unoriginal. Fascists have always talked about order as the cure for anarchy, including in gender and sexuality realms. And arranged things so they can be the ones to plunder bodies with no consequences. https://t.co/0OxyTBvECV
— Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) February 14, 2022
Aren’t y’all still supposed to be boycotting the NFL? https://t.co/EPPBYxFNp4
— Angry Staffer (@Angry_Staffer) February 14, 2022
People are wrongly criticizing this tweet.
It’s actually an endorsement from the founder of the League of Sexual Anarchy. https://t.co/X16toKQIzf pic.twitter.com/0sOJIqauFT
— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) February 14, 2022
Conservatives seem to get offended by everything these days https://t.co/xFEeDYFqXK
— Gravel Institute (@GravelInstitute) February 14, 2022
Kirk's has since moved on to other supposed controversies.
