New York Republican Representative George Santos denied he was a drag queen under the name "Kitara Ravache" while living in Brazil, but one of his old drag friends has photos to prove it.
Although Santos called the story an “outrageous claim” he alleged was made up by the media, freelance reporter and MSNBC columnist Marisa Kabas spoke with Eula Rochard, a Brazilian drag queen who knew Santos under the name "Anthony"—one of his many aliases.
Kabas has done a deep dive on all things Santos which can be reviewed in full via their newsletter The Handbasket.
Rochard provided Kabas with a photo of themself and Santos from 2008.
You can see the photo below.
UPDATE 1/20/23: And now there's video!
Kabas and others made it clear there is nothing wrong with drag, but Santos is aligned with homophobes and transphobes who target LGBTQ+ people and specifically drag performers for violence.
Eula Rochard also posted about her connection to Santos on her Instagram.
Rochard said she had been following Santos' story since an extensive investigation by The New York Times exposed multiple lies he told about his life.
She said she knew Santos when they were both about 16 or 17 years old, but when she first spoke about her connection to him, people accused her of lying.
In an interview with Reuters, Rochard said Santos was a "poor" drag queen who could only afford a simple black dress when he started but he was nonetheless "always a liar" and a "dreamer" who wanted to be Miss Gay Rio de Janeiro. In 2008, the year the photo she shared was taken, Santos competed in a pageant and lost.
Later, video of Santos allegedly performing in drag also surfaced.
While these revelations are striking, at least one other person dropped hints about Santos' drag performer past before.
Brazilian LGBTQ+ activist Bruna Benevides directed political strategist and commentator Ana Navarro to ask about Santos' past as "Kitara Ravache" in a post last month after Navarro joked Santos would only be ousted by the Republican Party if he turned out to be a drag queen.
Navarro's post was a jab about the pushback against drag performers amid the ongoing "groomer" rhetoric being spouted by the right-wing.
You can see the post below.
Santos impugned the media and denied the story altogether, calling it "categorically false" and adding he will "not be distracted or fazed by this."
However, his attempts to distance himself from the story have only amplified it and people have continued to criticize him.
Kabas spoke to MSNBC's Chris Hayes about the path and purpose of Santos' lies.
The freshman GOP Congressman currently faces backlash over his handling of a GoFundMe for a disabled veteran's service dog.
He may also face charges.
Santos is already wanted in Brazil for fraud.
Brazilian authorities said they're reviving a fraud case against him regarding the theft of a checkbook he used to purchase $700 of items in a clothing store in 2008.
In 2010, Santos confessed to check fraud charges in Brazil but failed to appear in court, leaving the case unresolved. After The New York Times published its investigation, Rio de Janeiro state prosecutors announced they were reviving the fraud charges because Santos' whereabouts had become known.
