In a single month, Kevin Whitt, of Texas, has launched into the internet spotlight--or at least one of the internet's spotlights. And no, all this new airtime has not been flattering for him.
Whitt—a QAnon believer with a particular affinity for the bogus Pizzagate conspiracy—first grabbed headlines when he posted an Instagram video documenting his part in the Capitol riot on January 6.
After that clip surfaced, he was swiftly fired from his position as a Republican field organizer for the GOP of Texas, according to the Texas Tribune.
Now, mere weeks later, some new Whitt content has surfaced, this time from 11 years ago. Thankfully, it's not nearly as threatening to democracy.
Whitt—who in recent years declared himself "ex-gay" and a "former transgender person"— according to LGBTQ Nation, once sent in an audition tape to be a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race. And the old clip just resurfaced.
The roughly 12-minute-clip recorded Whitt—or, shall we say, Dominique O'hara Skyy—as he discussed his work as a hairdresser, his dog and his deep love for the drag lifestyle.
"My life as a drag queen has been great...I'm very outgoing in drag, probably a little more outgoing than me as my boy self."
"For me, drag is like therapy. And hey, it's means I don't have to pay a therapist...Whenever I'm in drag I feel very powerful, very in control."Later, Whitt called out all the haters.
"I don't care what anyone says about me or what anyone thinks about me...All that matters is that I'm having fun, I'm doing what I love and what I enjoy."
"So to anybody who wants to sayin anything about me or talk sh*t about me they can go ahead. Because it goes in [one ear] and right out [the other]."Whitt then spent time showing his closet and various performance routines.
Ultimately, RuPaul's Drag Race passed on Ms. Skyy and did not choose to bring Whitt on as a contestant.
As time passed and Whitt became more and more involved in the GOP, he would go on to join all those haters he denounced in the audition clip.
LGBTQ Nation went on to report in 2019, Whitt became the director of Dallas Mass Resistance, an anti-LGBTQ hate group that has called gay people dangerous, campaigned against conversion therapy bans and even accused LGBTQ activists of trying to legalize sex with animals.
When quoted in an article on the Mass Resistance website, Whitt directly contradicted his audition video:
"Whenever I was in the lifestyle I was very depressed. I was an alcoholic. I had to be drunk all the time. Sleeping with all kinds of different men. I slept with probably five guys in a day. I was very sexually perverted."
He then falsely described homosexuality as nothing more than an unnatural response to psychological trauma.
"I was molested and raped as a kid … The majority of transsexuals, Drag Queens, and homosexuals that I know and have encountered, have been either sexually abused, molested, or they have been neglected emotionally by their father–or what have you … This is their main root cause, and this is what leads someone to lead a life of homosexuality."
More recently, Whitt's intolerance has come in a more formal package.
He recently appeared in an ad created by the American Principles Project, a conservative group that plans to spend millions of dollars to attack LGBTQ people in an attempt to sway Michigan voters.
In the video, Whitt spread more false claims, this time about transgender people:
"As a young teen, I felt I should be a woman. Seventeen years later, I felt I should be a man again. Treatments to change gender so that you cannot go through puberty causes damage. Sex change surgeries at 15 years old."
"This is legal child abuse. Gary Peters and Joe Biden support gender change treatments for minors — it's not okay."
"We all imagine what we might be when we grow up, and that can change several times. As a young teen, I felt I should be a woman. Seventeen years later, I felt I should be a man again."
"Treatments to change the gender of a minor are very dangerous and irreversible. Children need time, and politicians like Gary Peters who supports gender change treatments for minors, are taking that time away."
LGBTQ Nation explained that teens who identify as trans are either given nothing, or puberty blockers, which delay the physical effects of puberty but bring almost no harmful side effects.
When people came across the story on Facebook, they could barely believe Whitt made such an absurd argument.
Jenessa Rain Turner/Facebook
Emlyn Boyle/Facebook
Emily Maitland/Facebook
Kirk Pace/Facebook
Others pointed out just how much he sold out when he joined the GOP.
Jennifer Macaluso/Facebook
Adam Justin van Breen/Facebook
Nate Mack Reid/Facebook
Now that Whitt no longer has a day job, it's nearly impossible to imagine exactly where his ever-changing political views will take him.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram