Prominent Virginia Democrats will not defend House of Delegates candidate Susanna Gibson after it was revealed that the Democrat performed assorted sex acts and urinated on camera for money.
After video clips and screenshots of Gibson’s performances on the X-rated website Chaturbate circulated through the media, Gibson claimed distribution of the clips—which have been available on third-party pornography websites for over a year—constituted a "sex crime."
But Democrats aren’t rushing to Gibson’s defense. Virginia’s Democratic senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner declined to say whether she should end her campaign. Gibson’s district, which includes part of Richmond and its surrounding suburbs, is one of the handful that could decide which party controls the state’s lower chambers after November’s elections.
"I met Ms. Gibson once," Warner told the Washington Times. "I’m anxious to hear—there have been reports from her campaign of pushback. I want to hear both sides and then I’ll weigh in."
Kaine, who campaigned for Gibson just last weekend, said at a Wednesday press conference, "I don’t really know her that well."
"But I was very, very surprised at the story. It really took me aback," he added.
Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who previously lent her support to Gibson’s campaign, called the videos "a shocking, terrible situation." Spanberger also declined to answer whether Gibson should drop out of the race.
Gibson’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Gibson, often accompanied by her husband, performed on Chaturbate from at least May 2022 to September of that year, two months after she announced her candidacy. In exchange for "tips" from Chaturbate users, Gibson would act out various sexual requests.
"Yeah, you can watch me pee. Let me block a few people and then y'all can watch me pee if you tip me and some tokens again I'm raising money for a good cause," she said in one Chaturbate session, uploaded to a third-party website on Sept. 5, 2022. Gibson received the "Family Friendly Seal of Approval" from the left-wing Family Friendly Virginia in May.
Gibson says she has no plans of dropping out and told the New York Times that the circulation of her Chaturbate streams "won’t intimidate me and it won’t silence me." Her attorney, Daniel P. Watkins of the Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch firm, said any dissemination of her pornographic performances is "illegal." Watkins said he is "working closely with the F.B.I and local prosecutors to bring the wrongdoers to justice."
The Washington Free Beacon has posted an opposition research document containing a number of Gibson’s X-rated performances online.