Gay politician shuts down trolls’ ‘baffling’ theories after half-naked man walks in during Zoom call
Matt Heinz, a supervisor in Arizona, was forced to explain why a man in a swimsuit walked into the background of a Zoom call after right-wing backlash. (Twitter)
A gay politician has shut down “baffling” theories about a half-naked man who walked into the background of a Zoom call he was on.
Dr Matt Heinz, a Democrat who currently serves as Pima County Supervisor in Arizona, hit back at the “strange reaction” from right-wing pundits to the incident, which occurred during a meeting of the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
Heinz, who represents District 2 on the board, dialled into the meeting virtually. About two hours in, a man wearing a swimsuit could be seen walking into the background. He started to take off his shirt before looking at the camera and apparently realising he had walked into the frame.
Heinz briefly turned off his camera, and when it came back on, the man was gone – the whole thing lasted just a few seconds, but it was enough for right-wing influencers to latch onto.
Stephanie Hamill, a political journalist and advisor to the National Diversity Coalition for Trump, shared the clip on Twitter, writing: “Man in panties makes appearance in Arizona Democrat’s government work video.”
She continued: “Apparently he was the only supervisor to not show up in person for the meeting. Clearly he had more important things going on.”
Other right-wing media outlets picked up on the moment, with the Daily Caller writing that a “half-naked man wearing female underwear” was seen in the background of his call.
Gay politician Matt Heinz tells right-wing pundits: ‘Leave my friend alone’
Speaking to The Advocate, Heinz explained that he’s currently on a 10-day cruise with a friend. He dialled into the meeting from the cruise.
“I took a meeting while on my vacation, and just beyond the frame is a balcony that exits our room, so he came in to grab a shirt and ended up in the background,” Heinz said.
He questioned whether the clip would have gotten the same attention if a woman in a bikini had walked into the background of his call.
He accidentally walked into the frame for like not even three seconds, was not naked, is clearly an adult, and is not a sex worker.
Of his companion, he clarified that they’re “good friends who travel well together” and are not a couple.
“As a public official, I’m pretty used to getting like, you know, targeted and having all sorts of often incorrect stuff said about me – fine,” he said.
“But leave my friend alone. He was in a swimsuit. He accidentally walked into the frame for like not even three seconds, was not naked, is clearly an adult, and is not a sex worker – not that there’s anything wrong with that – but it’s just been a really strange reaction.”
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