OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Democrat New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being sued after backlash from her confrontation with a comedian. The comedian, Alex Stein, heckled the representative in a video that was popular on Twitter and led to Ocasio-Cortez subsequently blocking him on the platform.
In the lawsuit, the comedian said that she blocked him “in retaliation to Mr. Stein’s exercise of his First Amendment right, because earlier that day Mr. Stein, in the context of political commentary and satire, complimented Ms. Cortez.
“Mr. Stein has a constitutional right to access Ms. Cortez’s Twitter account as part of vigorous public comment and criticism,” it said, Slay News reported.
“Ms. Cortez’s practice of blocking Twitter users she disagrees with is unconstitutional and this suit seeks to redress that wrong. My client is a political satirist,” his attorney Jonathan Gross said. “Political speech, the Supreme Court has said, is the highest level of protected speech.”
“I really don’t have any hard feelings for AOC,” the comedian said. “I really would like to have her unblock me. I think ethically, AOC is kind of playing fast and loose.”
In July 2022, the noted conservative provocateur nearly provoked a physical response from the New York Democrat as he harassed her while she entered the U.S. Capitol Building.
Stein recorded himself as he catcalled the congresswoman and posted the video on his Twitter account. Ocasio-Cortez later shared Stein’s video, calling it a “deeply disgusting incident.”
“I was actually walking over to deck him because if no one will protect us then I’ll do it myself but I needed to catch a vote more than a case today,” the Bronx Democratic socialist tweeted after the incident.
“It’s just a bummer to work in an institution that openly allowed this, but talking about it only invites more. Just really sad,” she added.
Here is a video he posted of the incident. I was actually walking over to deck him because if no one will protect us then I’ll do it myself but I needed to catch a vote more than a case today pic.twitter.com/RdwCNBDIBb
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 14, 2022
In the video, Stein aimed a number of overtly crude remarks at Ocasio-Cortez.
When Stein shouted, “Look at that booty on AOC,” the congresswoman reacted by walking toward him before an aide stepped in between them.
The lefty lawmaker then held two fingers up in the form of a peace sign before walking back up the Capitol steps as Stein shouted, “Whooo. I love it AOC. Hot, hot, hot like a tamale.”
Some Twitter users, including former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, mocked ‘AOC’ for complaining.
Ellis, for instance, responded by tweeting a screenshot of a tweet in which Ocasio-Cortez wrote on the platform in December 2020: “The who point of protesting is to make ppl [people] uncomfortable.”
“This you?” Ellis asked.
This you? pic.twitter.com/HrCeB2kvXt
— Jenna Ellis 🇺🇸 (@JennaEllisEsq) July 14, 2022
Stein reportedly attempted to engage several lawmakers outside the Capitol on Wednesday, according to other reports.
The Washington Examiner noted further:
In another video posted by the provocateur on Twitter, he asked Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) if he thinks Hunter Biden “has good taste in prostitutes.” In the video, a puzzled-looking Bowman threw his hands up in the air after the question and walked off shaking his head.
Newly uncovered emails reveal that New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s staff was warned by an anti-corruption lawyer against accepting an invite from Vogue to attend the Met Gala in 2021.
“The lawyer warned that Vogue’s parent company, Advance Media Publications, was a registered lobbyist and appeared to suggest that she could attend the gala if she had an invite from event organizers. Ocasio-Cortez and her boyfriend accepted the tickets to the gala,” the Washington Examiner reported.
“The Congresswoman could accept an invitation from [the Met], but not from Vogue,” the lawyer wrote, according to documents released by the Congressional Ethics Committee. “Since Advance Publications is a registered lobbyist, we’ll need to be extra careful!”
“Hope the [C]ongresswoman had a great time last night! … [W]e have had a number of inquiries … Mainly from Page Six … Given that she was a guest of [V]ogue, we were planning to say … she was a guest of Anna [Wintour]’s. … wanted to check with you,” the email said, according to the New York Post.
The outlet added:
A slew of watchdog groups filed complaints after revelations emerged that she and her boyfriend, with whom she has since become engaged, scored tickets that cost $35,000 apiece. There were also questions about Ocasio-Cortez’s “borrowed” dress, her sitting at a sponsored table possibly valued up to $300,000, and having a limousine ride.
Documents from the Congressional Ethics Committee trove clarified that the invitation information Ocasio-Cortez and her boyfriend received showed they were “guests of Vogue.” Following her outing, a Vogue staffer contacted Ocasio-Cortez’s team and suggested they describe her as a guest of Anna Wintour, Vogue’s editor-in-chief.
