A MAGA devotee running for Wisconsin governor who espouses conservative family values and backs President Donald Trump followed sexually explicit accounts online, including a transgender porn star.
Republican Bill Berrien, who is also CEO of manufacturing company Pindel Global Precision, followed several accounts on the publishing platform Medium that produce content about dating, female pleasure, and sex education. He unfollowed nearly two dozen accounts after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on it.
Archived versions of Berrien’s Medium account show that he was following 41 accounts as late as last week. As of Monday, however, that number had gone down to 18. A spokesperson for his campaign confirmed to the Journal Sentinel that Berrien made those changes.
Berrien used to follow pages for Jiz Lee, a transgender adult performer; Jessica Pin, a women’s health activist who produces content about female pleasure; and Smile Makers Collection, a sex toy brand. He also followed accounts dedicated to health, science, and technology.
Lee’s sole post on Medium was published in January 2015 and titled, “‘Ethical Porn’ Starts When We Pay for It,” which argued that “paying for porn is the most direct way to ensure key ethical production values.”
The Journal Sentinel reported that Berrien also followed and liked posts by blogs such as Sexography, which bills itself as “an inclusive place for people to talk about and explore sexuality from all orientations, cultures, and perspectives,” and Polyamory Today, which covers non-monogamy.
Berrien wrote a statement on his X account Monday describing the report as a “garbage political hit.”
He added to the Daily Beast in a statement that, “There are a lot of important issues that are affecting our state and nation, but what is the mainstream media focused on right now? Some stupid articles I read years ago.” Berrien also lamented the lack of attention to his plans “to reindustrialize our state, turn the economy around, and bring prosperity for all through work.”
“Democrats and their friends in the media are using the same failed garbage attacks they used on President Trump. Wisconsinites want us to focus on issues that truly matter,” he added.
A former Navy SEAL turned manufacturer, Berrien is running on a campaign of revitalizing Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry, restoring law and order, and strengthening Wisconsin families.
His campaign website indicates that he will “back President Trump,” “push back on the left’s radical agenda, and refocus education on the values Wisconsin families believe in.”
Berrien’s campaign told the Daily Beast that “it is absurd to suggest that Bill would know about a particular author’s personal choices or that by reading one article by an author, one would agree with everything else they wrote.”
“We’ve read the Daily Beast, agree with nothing they say, and have no insight into this author’s personal choices,” it said.
