Lithuanian MP drops homophobic music video just months after being caught with half-naked man
Lithuanian MP Petras Grazulis dances to a homophobic slur (YouTube/x Benjis)
An anti-LGBT+ Lithuanian MP caught red-handed with a half-naked man on Zoom looks to be attempting to restore his reputation with a strange homophobic video stunt.
On Monday (12 April) firebrand politician Petras Grazulis was filmed bouncing with a group of young men from Kangoo Club, gym enthusiasts who train in special springy “rebound shoes”.
Together with the men, Grazulis chants an infamous homophobic Lithuanian song – “Kas nešokinės tas pyderas” – which translates to “who doesn’t jump is a fag”.
The MP told told LRT.lt that he sang in protest against COVID restrictions on gyms and sports, adding that the group chose the song, not him – but he didn’t object.
“Because the shoes are interesting – they bounce, so they chose such a song,” he said. “I’m not against it.”
Lithuanian police are investigating whether the stunt violated current COVID restrictions, and the ethics commission of the Lithuanian parliament is also reviewing the incident.
“Petras isn’t someone who has not been [under investigation by] our commission,” said Aušrinė Norkienė, head of the commission, speaking to LRT.lt.
“He is usually one of the more popular objects of our probes. Whether we help bring him to his senses, I don’t know, but we try,” she added.
While Grazulis may insist the odd performance was nothing but a pandemic protest, it’s notable that it comes a few months after he was joined by a topless man halfway through a conference call of the Lithuanian’s parliament’s culture committee.
The nude man only appeared on screen for a few seconds but it immediately sparked a scandal for Grazulis, who’s known for his virulent anti-LGBT+ rhetoric and protests.
The MP reacted angrily to questioning, initially saying the man was his son before changing his story half an hour later to claim it was a Lithuanian journalist who’d been “persecuting” him for months.
“Yes, I said that [it was my] son, but looking at the video better, I can guarantee that Andrius Tapinas is there,” he insisted. “He’s haunting me everywhere, it’s no wonder that he got here.”
The fact that the man in the video looks nothing like Tapinas could “easily” be explained with advanced video technology, Grazulis suggested.
As the MP desperately attempted to quash the rumours in parliament the next day, many were quick to point out that he wouldn’t be dealing with so much mockery if he wasn’t one of the strongest anti-LGBT+ voices in Lithuania.
Grazulis has frequently equated homosexuality with paedophilia, and in 2010 he proposed a law that would fine anyone who “promoted” homosexuality among minors.
In 2012 he gate-crashed an LGBT+ rights event attended by senior foreign officials and declared that all gay people should leave the country.
And as a homophobic publicity stunt in 2013 he delivered an offensive “present” to a Lithuanian LGBT+ group – a pair of men’s trousers with a zip directly where the buttocks met.
Some might’ve hoped his nude Zoom gaffe would have encouraged him to reconsider his position on LGBT+ issues – but sadly his latest homophobic bouncing bop suggests not.
