Drag Race judge reads homophobe who tried to take back Pete Buttigieg vote – and he doesn’t hold back
Ross Matthews was astonished that an Iowa voter didn’t know that Pete Buttigieg is gay. (Getty/MSNBC)
Drag Race judge Ross Matthews called the Iowa caucus-goer who tried to change her vote for Pete Buttigieg after learning he is gay ignorant and “gross”.
Matthews spoke of his surprise at learning an Iowa voter wasn’t aware of Buttigieg’s sexuality before casting her vote.
Appearing on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber, he said there were “a few things going on here”.
“One: gross, lady. Two: they’ve been campaigning her for about two years.
“It’s a small state, they blanketed the airwaves, he was on the cover of TIME Magazine. I dunno, maybe look up once or twice before you cast a vote.”
Iowa caucus voter didn’t know Pete Buttigieg was gay.
The unidentified woman was caught on camera in disbelief after being told that Buttigieg is married to another man, Chasten Buttigieg.
“Well,” the woman said, “Then I don’t want anybody like that in the White House. So can I have my [ballot] back?”
Matthews said that he was perplexed as to why somebody who doesn’t support LGBT+ rights would be voting in a Democratic caucus at all.
“We’re the party [of] Barack Obama,” he said. “He brought in marriage equality, he led that with Joe Biden.”
“I don’t understand why you’re voting in the Democratic caucus if you have an issue with it. And if you’re going to cast a vote for someone you should know who they are.”
I think maybe she’s never met a gay person before. She didn’t know she voted for one.
When Pete Buttigieg was shown the clip during an appearance on The View, he said that he wanted the voter to know “that I’m running to be her president too”.
“Of course, I wish she was able to see that my love is the same as her love for those that she cares about, and that my marriage means as much to me as hers, if she’s married,” he said.
“But if she can’t see that – and even if because she can’t see that, she won’t vote for me – I am still, if I’m elected president, going to get up in the morning and try to make the best decisions for her and the people she loves.”
The Iowa caucus result was expected shortly after polls closed on February 3, but a catalogue of issues means that a definitive winner is yet to be announced.
However with 99 per cent of votes counted the result appears to be a virtual tie between Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, with The New York Times reporting that less than one-tenth of a percentage point separates the two men.
