If you needed further evidence we're living in the upside down, this might do the trick.
Disgraced former New York politician Anthony Weiner is considering selling the underwear pic that destroyed his career as an NFT.
The infamous photo, which showed Weiner with an erection in his underwear and was accidentally posted to Twitter, cost Weiner his seat in Congress and kicked off a string of investigations that ultimately landed him in prison.
But we live in a specific hell where everything is monetizable, so Weiner is looking into "cashing in," as he put it to The New York Times.
Anthony Weiner pondering making an #NFT out of the tweet that brought him down. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/business/media/anthony-weiner-nyc-mayor-race.html\u00a0\u2026 via @benytpic.twitter.com/b7OHdsTR7G— Daniel Roberts (@Daniel Roberts) 1623035921
An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a unique and non-transferable piece of digital content purchased and sold with cryptocurrency. Some NFTs have been incredibly lucrative, like one by artist Beeple that fetched a tidy $69 million.
That potential for profitability has piqued the interest of Weiner, who told The Times he is seriously considering using the technology to monetize his multiple scandals.
Weiner, who was married at the time to Huma Abedin, aide to former Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, intended his now-infamous underwear photo to be direct-messaged to a woman on Twitter but accidentally posted it to his feed instead.
The ensuing scandal led to his resignation from Congress. He made a political comeback in 2013, which was quickly sunk when he was caught sexting with another woman during his New York City mayoral campaign.
Then in 2016, he was investigated for sending explicit material to a minor, which resulted in a conviction and prison sentence. That investigation also led to discovery of emails in Weiner's laptop to and from Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign.
That prompted the reopening of an FBI investigation that many believe resulted in Clinton's loss to former Republican President Donald Trump.
Out of prison since 2019, Weiner told The Times he is pondering monetizing all of these scandals, selling as NFTs not just the underwear photo, but also the search warrant for his laptop, an apology email from comedian Jon Stewart for mocking him on air, and a copy of Trump's donation check to Weiner's mayoral campaign.
As he put it to The New York Times:
"If you do believe in this butterfly effect, I've got the butterfly's wings and its antennas... Cashing in would be nice."
On Twitter, people greeted the news with a collective shaking of the head.
Definitive proof were living in a Philip K. Dick universe.https://nypost.com/2021/06/07/anthony-weiner-may-sell-his-infamous-crotch-shot-as-an-nft/amp/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=twitter_app&__twitter_impression=true\u00a0\u2026— Nick Gillespie (@Nick Gillespie) 1623152632
I have so many questions about this but I think I\u2019m just going to go outside, stare at the floor, and slowly shake my head for a couple of hours.pic.twitter.com/aAH5L0fYLC— John Sills (@John Sills) 1623098501
pic.twitter.com/wQ1pPRdxhI— cissypants (@cissypants) 1623063992
I would say \u201cHave some dignity\u201d but I think that ship sailed some time ago.— Eliot Wilson (@Eliot Wilson) 1623112625
Anthony Weiner discussing NFTs is a special kind of hell that could only exist in 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/business/media/anthony-weiner-nyc-mayor-race.html\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/6wgIpeL1af— Harrison Morgan (@Harrison Morgan) 1623029927
The man has no shame.https://twitter.com/Independent/status/1402019073815416835\u00a0\u2026— Sohail Nakhooda (@Sohail Nakhooda) 1623102631
Anthony Weiner performing an unlikely public service ; tarnishing NFT\u2019s by association just while thinking out loudpic.twitter.com/aaBWkrbwOW— CSTB (@CSTB) 1623092576
I used to think NFTs were pointless, but now that I know they can be used to sell congressional dick pics I'm on board.https://nypost.com/2021/06/07/anthony-weiner-may-sell-his-infamous-crotch-shot-as-an-nft/\u00a0\u2026— Jesse Walker (@Jesse Walker) 1623156565
there must be a german word for when reality begins to outpace satirehttps://nypost.com/2021/06/07/anthony-weiner-may-sell-his-infamous-crotch-shot-as-an-nft/amp/?__twitter_impression=true\u00a0\u2026— J (@J) 1623116486
This timeline is unacceptably surreal.https://www.thedailybeast.com/anthony-weiner-mulls-selling-his-fateful-underpants-photo-as-nft?ref=home&utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark\u00a0\u2026— SigsegV (@SigsegV) 1623101375
please nobodt buy thishttps://nypost.com/2021/06/07/anthony-weiner-may-sell-his-infamous-crotch-shot-as-an-nft/\u00a0\u2026— Becca Laurie (@Becca Laurie) 1623108873
Weiner also told The Times he is considering writing a book on sex addiction, for which he is in a 12-step program.
