Madison Cawthorn Gives An Explanation For His Controversial Lingerie Photos

Madison Cawthorn has been a controversial figure ever since being elected to Congress in 2020. The Republican politician hails from North Carolina and has raised eyebrows for his unabashed support of former President Donald Trump, even encouraging people to "fight" at the January 6 Capitol riot, per The Guardian. More recently, he drew fire for referring to Ukraine's President Volodoymyr Zelenskyy as a "thug" in a speech that surfaced shortly after Russia invaded the country, whose government he called "incredibly corrupt and ... incredibly evil" (via WRAL).

Cawthorne's conservative stances have been polarizing, to say the least. Now, he's finding himself under scrutiny yet again as old photos of him wearing lingerie, including a lacy black bra, have begun circulating the internet. Politico published the photos, stating that they were sent to the outlet by a source claiming to have been close to the congressman.

While the photos have proven to be controversial, Cawthorn is not apologizing for them.

In a tweet posted after the photos of him resurfaced, Madison Cawthorn said that the images are several years old. "I guess the left thinks goofy vacation photos during a game on a cruise (taken waaay before I ran for Congress) is going to somehow hurt me?" he wrote. "They're running out of things to throw at me... Share your most embarrassing vacay pics in the replies."

Still, people are viewing the photos as hypocritical given Cawthorn's stances on gender, particularly in light of a transphobic speech he gave earlier this month at the House of Representatives in which he said "Your left-wing movement is forcing childrens [sic] to endure radical expressions of sexuality, and yet you can't even define what a woman is" (via Fox 8).

After the pictures surfaced, people were quick to call out Cawthorn. "Hey, if he likes women's lingerie that's cool, but maybe he should cut out the trans bashing," tweeted one person. Another wrote, "Seeing photos surface of GQP [sic] 'star' Madison Cawthorn wearing lingerie at a party as he and his cult attack LGBTQ Americans for existing is yet more hypocritical projection."

Cawthorn doubled down, affirming his belief that gender is defined solely by biology. "My gender didn't change when I put that stuff on," he tweeted. "And neither does anyone else's."