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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.”

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 192 points 1 year ago

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

[-] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 140 points 1 year ago

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

[-] rayyyy@kbin.social 77 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] rhacer@lemmy.world 172 points 1 year ago

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

Who the hell cares.

[-] CluckN@lemmy.world 80 points 1 year ago

Who cares

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

[-] tetris11@kbin.social 34 points 1 year ago

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

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[-] utopianfiat@lemmy.world 57 points 1 year ago

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

[-] SwampYankee@mander.xyz 10 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] waz@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

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

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[-] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 116 points 1 year ago

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

[-] TheFriar@lemm.ee 52 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] Smytty@lemmy.world 63 points 1 year ago

Oh gosh this is absolutely terrible.

Where?

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

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

[-] jeffw@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

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

[-] SpunkyBarnes@geddit.social 13 points 1 year ago

Chaturbate is mentioned.

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[-] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 58 points 1 year ago

I don't see the problem here.

[-] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 54 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] blackstampede@sh.itjust.works 54 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] TruTollTroll@lemmy.world 49 points 1 year ago

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..

[-] hdnsmbt@feddit.de 43 points 1 year ago

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

[-] Astroturfed@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago
[-] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago

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

[-] WhipTheLlama@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] fruitleatherpostcard@lemm.ee 29 points 1 year ago

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’.

[-] Rapidcreek@reddthat.com 26 points 1 year ago

Erections have consequences.

[-] HulkSmashBurgers@reddthat.com 24 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] Enigma@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] _number8_@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

so???

this is a good strategy!

[-] BonfireOvDreams@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 year ago

Imagine caring at all

[-] SuddenlyBlowGreen@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Conservatives are judt weirded out because their sex scandals involve rape/children.

[-] Sharpiemarker@feddit.de 19 points 1 year ago
[-] weedazz@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago

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

[-] SpunkyBarnes@geddit.social 12 points 1 year ago
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[-] Murvel@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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?

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[-] eek2121@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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.

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[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 10 points 1 year ago

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!

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this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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