Come on, man

This is what happened at the White House pride event. A disgrace to our country. pic.twitter.com/QmXVIdmOPr

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 13, 2023

“The topless video took place after the majority of people had cleared out, as no one else is present in the video besides the topless people,” one Twitter user wrote. “Also, since yall call trans women men, what’s wrong with her boobs being out, since she’s a man after all.”

Montoya posted a video responding to the outrage on Monday.

“It has recently come to my attention that conservatives are trying to use the video of me topless at the White House to try to call the community groomers etc.,” Montoya said in the video.

“And I would just like to say that first of all, going topless in Washington D.C. is legal and I fully support the movement in freeing the nipple because why is my chest now deemed inappropriate or illegal when I show it off? However, before coming out as trans, it was not.”

[The issue is less the nipples (which Montoya kept covered in the video) than the fact that this took place on the White House lawn. That’s different — or it SHOULD be different — than going topless on a beach. It’s about respect for the public institution taking precedence over individual narcissism. — Ed]