White House condemns trans activist’s topless pose at Biden event: ‘Unacceptable’

The White House is calling a transgender activist’s behavior “inappropriate” and “disrespectful” after she filmed herself topless at an event with President Biden celebrating Pride Month.

The activist, Rose Montoya, posted a video on TikTok on Monday after attending the White House’s picnic over the weekend in support of LGBTQ rights. In the video, Montoya is seen standing alongside Biden as she says into the camera, “Trans rights are human rights.”

At another point, Montoya smiles with her dress pulled down and her hands over her bare breasts.

“The behavior was simply unacceptable. We’ve been very clear about that,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a Tuesday briefing. “It was unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families. So, you know, we’re going to continue to be clear on that, and that type of behavior is, as I said, unacceptable. It’s inappropriate, it’s disrespectful. And it really does not reflect the event that we hosted to celebrate the LGBTQ+ families.” 

Conservative critics had pounced on the clip, with one comparing a 2020 tweet from Biden calling for the “need to restore honor and decency to the White House” with a Daily Wire article about the topless activist.

In a Monday TikTok video posted after the uproar, Montoya defended the move.

“My trans masculine friends were showing off their top surgery scars and living in joy, and I wanted to join them,” Montoya said.

“I had zero intention of trying to be vulgar or be profane in any way,” Montoya said. “I was simply living in joy, living my truth, and existing in my body. Happy Pride. Free the nipple,” she said.

—Brett Samuels contributed.