Lying Long Island Rep. George Santos finally admitted to dressing as a woman in an interview with reporters at LaGuardia Airport on Saturday — though he denied being a “drag queen.”
“No, guys, I’m not a drag queen in Brazil. I’m young and I had a great time at a festival. Sue my life,” the embattled Republican congressman said in a statement since last week. His first public response since accusing him of playing a drag queen named Kitara.
Santos, who is openly gay, has repeatedly tried to refute reports of his drag past, and last week Eula Rochard, a Brazilian drag queen and former friend of Santos, posted a photo online The reports emerged after the 2008 photos.
A video also surfaced of what appears to be a freshman representative wearing a black dress and sunglasses bragging about playing drag queen in a 2005 pride parade in Niterói, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro.
Rochard was already a well-known drag queen in the Brazilian city near Rio de Janeiro when Santos and Rochard reportedly met. She said he was called “Anthony” when she knew him and that he “lied about everything”.
She said Santos — who also goes by the name Anthony Devold — was never a professional drag performer because “he didn’t have what it takes.”
While Santos denied earlier this week that he was “playing a drag queen,” he did not deny that he was the one in the photos and videos.
“The media’s recent obsession with claiming I’m a drag queen or ‘acting’ as a drag queen is absolutely false,” said Santos tweeted on thursday“While I’m trying to get results, the media continues to make outrageous claims about my life. I won’t be distracted or annoyed by it.”
Screenshot of a 2005 video purportedly depicting Santos in drag under the name “Kitara Ravache.”
Screenshot of a 2005 video purportedly depicting Santos in drag under the name “Kitara Ravache.”
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When The Post contacted Santos about the 2005 video, Santos replied in a text message: “This is absolutely fake and the buildup effect I’m dealing with is just another load of bullshit.”
Santos was caught in a seemingly never-ending web of lies about his college education, work history, race and other aspects of his life.
Among his more outrageous claims, his mother died on September 9. 11 raids, his grandparents escaped Nazi persecution in Europe during World War II. In fact, his grandparents and mother were in Brazil during both tragedies, according to immigration records.
On Saturday, Santos ignored multiple questions from reporters about his family’s lies.
He had just returned from a visit to Washington, D.C., where he attended a meeting Friday night, according to CNN. He declined to say who he met with, calling it “confidential.”
Both Democrats and Republicans have called for Santos’ resignation. Regardless, the Republican House Steering Committee this week placed him on two committees: small business and science, and space and technology.