The White House condemned attendees at Saturday’s Pride event on the South Lawn who engaged in what President Joe Biden’s press secretary described as “unacceptable” behavior.
“The behavior was simply unacceptable. We’ve been very clear about that. It was unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday, adding that the people seen engaging in the “inappropriate” behavior won’t be invited back to the White House.
She was responding to video from the Saturday event that showed some attendees removing their tops in front of the South Portico while dancing.
“It’s not appropriate. It’s disrespectful,” Jean-Pierre said, going on to say the video “really does not reflect the event that we hosted to celebrate the LGBTQ+ families.”
“Individuals in the video certainly will not be invited to future events,” she said.
One of the individuals in the video – Rose Montoya, an activist, model and actor who uses the pronouns she/they – said on social media that the video was an act of joy in celebrating transgender people.
“I had zero intention of trying to be vulgar or be profane in any way. I was simply living in joy, living my truth and existing in my body,” Montoya said in a video posted to Twitter. “Happy Pride, free the nipple.”
The event on Saturday was billed as the largest Pride event in White House history. It featured speeches from the president and first lady, along with a performance from singer Betty Who.