Turning Point USA, a conservative student organisation, came under fire for having hosted an adult entertainment star at a conference.
Brandi Love (her professional name) is a 48-year old pornographic actress and entrepreneur who identifies as a political conservative. She was welcomed as a VIP to the event in Tampa, Florida. Love has previously declared support for former President Donald Trump, and has also penned articles for conservative media.
She has stated on social media: ‘It’s good to be around so many young conservatives. Gives me some hope!’
However, some critics disagreed with her attendance at the event, pointing out that minors would be present. It was also argued that she was an inappropriate attendee, given that mainstream conservatism places a premium on traditional Judeo-Christian moral standards. One online critic remarked: ‘Great job TPUSA, for inviting a porn star to their conference that features kids under 17; very conservative of them!’
In the wake of the controversy, TPUSA ‘revoked’ her invitation. Love hit back: ‘Can’t make this shit up lol!! I just watched Charlie Kirk, Dan Bongino, Rick Scott, Kat Timpf speak about freedom, censorship, how inclusive the “movement” is …etc… And then they had me thrown out of the Turning Point USA conference. The Republican Party is broken.’
Some commentators came to her defence, saying that it was necessary to accommodate various strands of opinion within the broader conservative movement. Federalist co-founder and frequent Fox News guest Ben Domenech, a founder of the Federalist and commentator on Fox News tweeted: ‘I’m disappointed that TPUSA kicked out Brandi Love for no reason whatsoever. She’s a Florida conservative businesswoman who loves America. The right has an opportunity to be the big tent party. Don’t be a bunch of prudes.’
Image: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons