Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

US Rep. Santos was a drag queen in Brazil, friends say

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 19 Jan 2023 10:20
  • 3 Shares
2 Min Read

Newly elected US Republican George Santos is again under the spotlight after sources revealed secrets from his past.

  • x
  • Newly elected freshman Rep. George Santos (Reuters)
    Newly elected freshman Rep. George Santos (Reuters)

US Representative George Santos was a drag queen in Brazilian beauty pageants 15 years ago, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday, adding to the Republican congressman's pile of secrets. 

The embattled freshman congressman has faced criticism and calls from fellow New York Republicans to step down over fabrications about his career and history.

The congressman's old friend, a 58-year-old Brazilian drag performer who uses the drag name Eula Rochard, said he befriended him during a parade in Niteroi, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro in 2005.

She added that Santos then competed in a drag beauty pageant three years later. 

NEW: I just spoke by phone with Eula Rochard, a Brazilian drag queen who was friends with George Santos when he lived near Rio. She said everyone knew him as Anthony (*never* George), or by his drag name, Kitara, and confirms this photo is from a 2008 drag show at Icaraí Beach. pic.twitter.com/1MeeDR1O2O

— Marisa Kabas (@MarisaKabas) January 18, 2023

Another acquaintance who knew the congressman said that he participated in drag queen beauty pageants and dreamed to be "Miss Gay Rio de Janeiro."

Related News

EU rallies allies as Trump tariff threats push trade tensions higher

Supreme Court clears fast-track deportations to random third countries

The first gay "conservative" Republican won a House seat in Congress as a non-incumbent and has positioned himself as a staunch conservative on many social issues.

Republicans denounce drag shows and performers, claiming they are harmful to children.

Santos won't step down

Santos has been criticized by fellow Republicans who are calling on him to resign after he admitted to lying about his resume. He fabricated key details of his life including his education, work experience, and even his religion and ancestry.

Both Democrats and Republicans asked him to step down after he admitted to lying on his resume, but despite the backlash, the lawmaker has refused to stand down - at least not until every last of the 142,000 voters calls on him to step down. 

He confessed that he had lied about his education and job history during the campaign. The representative-elect declared that it wouldn't prevent him from serving his two-year tenure in congress.

Moreover, Santos claimed that his ancestors arrived in Belgium as Ukrainian refugees after his grandparents fled the Holocaust.

From his end, however, Santos explained “I never claimed to be Jewish,” adding that “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”

  • United States
  • Republican Party
  • Republicans
  • George Santos
  • Brazil

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS