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politics·politics byMicroWave

Candidate in high-stakes Virginia election performed sex acts with husband in live videos

A candidate in a high-stakes legislative contest in Virginia had sex with her husband in live videos posted on a pornographic website and asked viewers to pay them money in return for carrying out specific sex acts.

Screenshots of Susanna Gibson on the website were shared with The Associated Press. The campaign for Gibson, a Democrat running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in a district just outside Richmond, issued a statement Monday in which it denounced the sharing of the videos as a violation of the law and her privacy. Gibson called the exposure of the videos “the worst gutter politics.”

“It won’t intimidate me and it won’t silence me,” she said in the statement. “My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up.”

Candidate in high-stakes Virginia election performed sex acts with husband in live videoshttps://apnews.com/article/susanna-gibson-virginia-house-of-delegates-sex-acts-9e0fa844a3ba176f79109f7393073454Open linkView original on lemmy.world
lemmy.world

I could not care less about such a thing when it comes to a candidate and I wish no one else would either.

207
lemm.ee

She’s being accused of…having sex with her husband lmfao

Now let’s cut to a montage of all the elected men who fucked around on their spouses and had no consequences

149

Let's start with Trump. Although he may actually face some consequences on that front for once.

40

If she was anti porn it would be an issue. If she bill herself as a "good Christian", it would be an issue. If it was legal, so what? Porn-loving self professed Christians likely won't vote for her though.

80
lemmy.world

Where's the problem? She and her husband were obviously consenting, the viewers were consenting.

Who the hell cares.

175
CluckNreply
lemmy.world

Who cares

Old people and strict Catholics who unfortunately make up 120% of voters.

78
tetris11reply
kbin.social

that statistic cannot be accurate. And yet it is.... yet it is...

34
lemmy.world

The real controversy is that somehow Wapo and AP decided to assist a GOP operative in violating Virginia's revenge porn laws

57

Chaturbate TOS:

You may not, download, reproduce, sell, rent, perform, or link to any content made available through the Platform, except as expressly permitted by the Community Member and/or Independent Broadcaster, as appropriate, responsible for such content or otherwise as permitted by the rules of the Platform.

Virginia revenge porn law:

Any person who, with the intent to coerce, harass, or intimidate, maliciously disseminates or sells any videographic or still image created by any means whatsoever that depicts another person who is totally nude, or in a state of undress so as to expose the genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast, where such person knows or has reason to know that he is not licensed or authorized to disseminate or sell such videographic or still image is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

It's clear from the TOS that unless Mrs. Gibson expressly permitted dissemination of the materials, that the sites on which they were reposted AND the GOP operative "had reason to know" that they were not licensed or authorized to disseminate the content. That said, it's hard to prove malintent in a political context. GOP operative could simply argue that there was a public interest in this information being shared.

9

I'm pleased to find this as the top comment. It summarizes my reaction perfectly.

10

It was pretty vanilla sex between a married couple without a condom, the only kind of sex God likes. You'd think the Republicans would be thrilled.

5
slrpnk.net

Seems fine. Sex workers are allowed to have political opinions. These were consenting adults. This wasn't infidelity, because it was a married couple. There's really no controversy here, unless you think sex is intrinsically a bad thing, in which case you're probably repressing yourself and everyone else

123

Not to mention this is 2023. A candidate who is naked on the internet was bound to happen and we’ve been saying it for over a decade. Okay, it happened. Can we move on and discuss the outrageous problems we as a country and as an entire species are facing? That’s be great.

54
lemmy.world

When Mary Carey ran for governor of California, she didn't get many votes, but people treated her like a serious candidate. And she was (is?) a porn star.

24
lemmy.world

And yet she was still treated like a real candidate despite her history.

2
lemmy.world

That's what I'm saying, she got more votes than 143 people in that race. And at the time, it wasn't history, she was a working porn star.

2
lemmy.world

I'm betting OnlyFans and I have no idea why the AP is being so prudish about it.

23

The issue is that the videos were deleted from the original site and are now being hosted elsewhere without her consent.

13

The videos were pretty standard sex between her and her husband. Honestly, it'd be cool if they just owned it- respond to gotcha questions at debates etc with a shrug and a "yeah, so?" explain how to tip through the various platforms and then give people links. Seems like reacting as if it's shameful just gives right-wing scolds leverage.

59

The only difference between this and other sex scandals that Republicans have ignored is that in this case the woman consented. I'm therefore forced to conclude that they believe consent is the problem. Men can rape all they want because men are dumb animals who just grab women by the pussy and have no actual moral agency, and a woman being raped isn't an issue because she didn't want to do it and is therefore "morally intact". Sex is only a scandal if it's not straight, or if the woman consents. Both of those represent wilfull violations of the rules of their death cult, and must be punished.

57

They (the GOP) Had no problems with Melania Trump's naked photos and infact praised her for being so "bold and beautiful" 🤮🤢 but they have a problem with a ("one") Man and ("One") women who are married to each other hosting naked photos of themselves.... and they do not realize the leopards feasting on their faces? Or is that shock and adrenaline keeping them from noticing lmao 🤣😂 fuck the hypocritical GOP fascist..

49

So? Oh no, someone's having a sex life? Get fucked, prudes. Literally. It'll help you loosen up a bit.

46

Someone here did break the law: The GOP operative source and the Wapo and AP who are obstructing justice by hiding their identity

19
Cethinreply
lemmy.zip

She probably didn't break a law, but that may also depend on when and where this happened. Virginia passed a low that went into effect recently banning websites from showing content "not appropriate for children" without age verification. I doubt a user posting a video is responsible for it though, and the website may have required it (but some do not still).

1
lemmy.world

What's the issue here? Other than GQP weirdos upset that they can't get laid?

35

While it's perfectly legal to record your own sex tape and sell access, I can't imagine how stupid you have to be in order to run for office and think it won't become public and negatively affect your campaign.

She should have come forward with the information when she first decided to run. She would have been able to control the message.

-4

Yet if she was advocating for guns and straight-up shooting political competitors, and a GOP, she’d be feted as ‘standing up for American values’.

28

I hope that one day our culture moves past this sexual shame bullshit so that grown adults doing completely legal things with each other don't have to worry about shamed for crap like this.

25

People are going to have to start getting over themselves. As time goes on, there are going to be more and more candidates with similar shit. Younger Millennials/older gen z are going to have a lot who were on Onlyfans. Eventually someone is going to add it to their donate links. As long as it’s consensual, who gives a fuck.

24

Lol we live in a post trump post bobert world, y'all really think there is anything that would shock me about this story

18
lemmy.world

Those poor kids. It seems pretty ghoulish of MSN to put multiple pictures of their school aged children in an article about their folks banging on Chaturbate for tips.

3

MSN was reposting a NY Post story. Would be unsurprising if, in about a decade or, there’re lawsuits alleging emotional distress, lost wages, trauma, etc., against various media outlets.

1
lemmy.world

okay? a man and woman (or man/man, or woman/woman, or…) should be able to do what they want, as long as enthusiastic consent is given.

11

what's up with everyone being enthusiastic these days? maybe the first time with someone new but most times it's more like? eh, ok might be fun.

1

This is the best summary I could come up with:


The campaign for Gibson, a Democrat running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in a district just outside Richmond, issued a statement Monday in which it denounced the sharing of the videos as a violation of the law and her privacy.

“My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up.”

The revelation marked an explosive turn in a contest that will carry significant weight in determining the balance of power in the Virginia General Assembly.

Watkins cited a 2021 Virginia Court of Appeals ruling that found it was unlawful for a man to secretly record his girlfriend during a consensual sexual encounter even if he did not show the video to other people.

Gibson, 40, a nurse practitioner and married mother of two young children, won a Democratic primary in June and is running against Republican businessman David Owen in one of the most competitve districts in the state.

Gibson had an account on Chaturbate, a legal website where viewers can watch live webcam performances that feature nudity and sexual activity, according to the screenshots reviewed by the AP.


The original article contains 739 words, the summary contains 209 words. Saved 72%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

9

There's a similar photo of Ivanka Trump, I'd just bring it up and show anyone who mentions it.

5

Morality aside this lady was a stupid pick to run if she really is a sex worker (edit: or has ever done sex work) because the average voter doesn't really have a nuanced view on the topic.

-8
_Sc00terreply
lemmy.ml

A quick Google shows she's a nurse practitioner

6

Okay?

The issue is that she has apparently done sex work... Making porn for folks seems to qualify?

So the problem is you're left to argue "well that wasn't her day job!" or "but it's a fine profession!"

Unfortunately, at that point you've probably already lost most voters who haven't made up their minds.

Picking someone with this sort of baggage was an unforced error.

-5

Yeah it shows really bad local party vetting/onboarding process which is par for the course for Virginia democrats. This would be a potential issue in a city council election, and this is state delegate level - you gotta get in front of that beforehand since you know it'll be released. Unless they wanted the free publicity (totally possible advanced election calculus, but I doubt it), this seems crazy to let slide. I don't know the district, but Richmond suburbs isn't gonna be the most progressive area.

3
lemmygrad.ml

Screenshots of Susanna Gibson on the website were shared with The Associated Press. The campaign for Gibson, a Democrat running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in a district just outside Richmond, issued a statement Monday in which it denounced the sharing of the videos as a violation of the law and her privacy. Gibson called the exposure of the videos “the worst gutter politics.”

“It won’t intimidate me and it won’t silence me,” she said in the statement. “My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up.”

respectable. There is absolutely nothing morally wrong with participating in sex work or being openly sexual in the right community. She may be contemptible for being a democrat, but she's not contemptible for her sex positivity.

edit: it blows my mind that a comment defending sex workers ends up negative and this fucking comment reducing the entire story into a joke about getting a woman's nudes (a victim of a systemic harassment campaign no less) is top comment. I don't come here often, is this what lemmyworld is usually like?

-39
lemmy.world

She may be contemptible for being a democrat, but she’s not contemptible for her sex positivity.

edit: it blows my mind that a comment defending sex workers ends up negative and this fucking comment reducing the entire story into a joke about getting a woman’s nudes (a victim of a systemic harassment campaign no less) is top comment

I don't think it's your take on sex workers that is getting the downvotes.

52
purahnareply
lemmygrad.ml

oh I thought that the democratic party being a massive corporate lobbying convention was a fairly uncontroversial take in general, is this one of those things where people interpret criticism of democrats as worship and praise for republicans?

-34
mtgzone.com

Criticizing the democratic party is counter-productive until we eliminate the GOP and institute nation-wide STAR voting or similar. The only thing you'll accomplish is lower the bar republicans have to cross to win.

10

you're right, I should have been less reckless. Criticizing the Democrats here on Lemmy runs the risk of helping the Republicans win. I should have kept that under better wraps, I'll make sure to only say nice things about the Democrats so as to avoid lowering the bar Republicans have to cross to win, like how they have tried harder than any other party to get a small amount of student loan debt canfelled while owning the house, the senate, and the presidency, or that they were the only party to un-ban trans people from military service after the other party banned trans people from military service

-11
purahnareply
lemmygrad.ml

clearly my mistake was expecting people I've never met on the internet to understand nuance 😔

-21
darganonreply
lemmy.world

It's also a reference to a fairly popular TV show that people enjoy.

5

I know, I've seen the show and I've also seen the joke repeated every single fucking time it has been publicly stated that a women has a naked picture of herself that exists.

0
lemm.ee

Lady, you stream yourself and hubby fucking and that's then suddenly an invasion of your privacy? What fucking Looney Toons world is she living?

-50
lemmy.world

Your parents never sat you down and explained the concept of consent to you, did they?

35
Murvelreply
lemm.ee

Consent to fucking what, people watching it online?

-1
Cethinreply
lemmy.zip

She did share it. She isn't sharing it. There's a difference.

2
Murvelreply
lemm.ee

Thats not a difference! You cannot decide to suddenly 'un-share' with the public just because you're an idiot who doesn't understand consequences

-1

Yes you can. You might not be able to, but you legally can. Anyone uploading her content without her permission is breaking the law, regardless of what the content is. If you upload someone's movie without their permission, even if they shared it online, that's breaking their copyrights. The same is true for pornographic content.

1
lemm.ee

When you’re selling your nudes and sex videos to random strangers, that sure sounds like consent, what is there to complain about? She’s mad some of those random strangers paying her were Republicans?

-16
lemmy.world

So you don't see a difference between giving nudes out to a few individuals for money and having your nudes leaked to the entire world for free?

20
Murvelreply
lemm.ee

It's 'leaked' when you first put it online you moron. Like how a plot to a movie is 'leaked' as soon as it airs. Also, she did so deliberately!

Wtf are we discussing even!? I feel like I'm losing my grasp on reality every time someone mentions the blue or the red team.

1

No? That's not what I'm saying, not sure were you got that from

1

Sounds like a copyright issue. I thought Americans were really big on fighting those...

0
Murvelreply
lemm.ee

No? I don't post nudes online because I care about my privacy, but then I'm not a fucking idiot thinking that streaming yourself fucking is being 'private'.

-2
lemmy.world

Yes, because if I stream a private video to a certain group of people, somehow that means giving it to literally everyone.

1

'Private' with anyone who coughs up the buck for the video! Is that your concept of being 'private' with a group lmao!?

0
SulaymanFreply
lemmy.world

If I was selling nudes you’d have a point. She’s trying to have it both ways.

-5
RaoulDookreply
lemmy.world

You are totally right despite the down votes. I concur, that you should not live stream porn of yourself if you don't want people to see that. Her privacy for that act was lost when she turned on that stream.

This is a simple fact of how the Internet works in general. Don't put it online if you don't want someone to see it.

0
Cethinreply
lemmy.zip

This is not about her privacy being lost, it's about people sharing videos without her consent. She posted them expecting people to see her naked. That isn't the issue. She's taken the videos down and people have reposted them on other sites.

2

Well, I must refer you to the lady in question's own words, which were "Invasion of Privacy" - hence this discussion about that statement regarding Privacy.

0

It's literally about her privacy, read the frickin article.

0

Yeah. 2023 and people still fail to grasp the most simple concepts of how the internet functions.

0
lemmy.world

Democrats make it sure hard to support them sometimes. This isn’t conduct becoming of a representative.

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kbin.social

Oh get over yourself, no one believes you’ve never looked at porn, you’re in no position to judge

41
SulaymanFreply
lemmy.world

I still like to believe politicians should be role models; people who pay their taxes rather than cheat on them for example. Porn exists but I don’t like the thought of schoolteachers or politicians making their own.

-41

I don’t like the thought of schoolteachers or politicians making their own.

And why is that? She had consentual sex with someone, both parties consented to filming it, and both parties consented to streaming it online. Sex is a natural and healthy act, so where's the problem?

27

Nonsense. It's a job like any other. Stop projecting your morality on everyone else. She didn't do anything wrong at all. She didn't hurt anyone. You have no right to judge her.

18

My teachers had sex. My parents had sex. My grandparents had 12 kids, they had lots of sex.

My politicians have sex, sometimes they lie about who with and make statements about lying with the same sex but still get caught with the same sex. I like a politician who has sex, is positive about the act, is big on consent and privacy, and knows the internet grift.

If we want doctors and engineers and teachers and lawyers and cops and businessmen and construction workers and whomever else being represented in our government, if we want experts there to make the laws, I think it would behoove us to have a sex worker or two.

I'd pay for Mitch McConnel nudes (consensually sold) if only to say I owned copies of that tortoises' scrotal sack.

30
SulaymanFreply
lemmy.world

She’s the worst person in Congress already, and yes this makes her even lower. Stop treating this as a zero-sum game.

-3