Photos of U.S. Senator JD Vance allegedly dressed in drag have resurfaced, leading to widespread criticism and accusations of hypocrisy.
The images, reportedly from his time at Yale Law School in 2012 when Vance was 28 years old, depict him wearing a blonde wig, a shirt, and a skirt.
The controversy began when Matt Bernstein, a user on X (formerly known as Twitter), posted one of the photos with the caption: “new: i have obtained a photo of jd vance in drag while at yale law school.”
The source of the photo was later revealed to be Travis Whitfill, an assistant professor at Yale. Whitfill confirmed his involvement, saying: “Hi Matt, I was the source of the photo (sent through friends to you). This was taken in 2012 (the same time I was at Yale 
). Photo was taken by a classmate and sent to me. Thanks for sharing 
.”
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Whitfill elaborated that the photo was from a group chat of Vance’s classmates and likеly originated from Facebook. It was taken at a Halloween party.
A few days after the initial post, Bernstein shаrеd a second image, captioning it, “a second photo has hit my inbox.”
As the images circulated, they quickly became the subject of mockery online. One user joked, “Feelin’ cute. Might run for Vice President later,” while another quipped, “What better way to get on Trump’s good side than by trying to look likе his Ivanka….”
Despite the viral spread of the photos and the jokes that followed, some people defended Vance, arguing that the pictures were being misrepresented.
One user pointed out: “People consider putting on a wig at a college party as drag? That’s an insult to my drag friends at the balls and in the Houses.”
Another added: “I can’t tell which possibility is worse: you all not being able to distinguish a party costume from actual drag because you think it’s totally normal for men to dress likе women OR you all knowing it’s a costume and being absurdly intellectually dishonest about it.”
One notable defense came from George Santos, who faced similar scrutiny in 2023 when photos of him in drag surfaced. Santos dismissed the accusations against Vance, saying it “definitely” wasn’t drag. Watch Video
