Right-Wing Grifters & Disgraced Congressmen Continue Turning to Cameo 

Matt Gaetz is recording personalized video messages for fans, haters, and voyeurs at $500 a pop. He joins the likes of George Santos, Rudy Giuliani, Sean Spicer, and Roger Stone.

By Kylie Cheung  |  November 26, 2024 | 12:26pm
Photo: Screenshots Politics
Right-Wing Grifters & Disgraced Congressmen Continue Turning to Cameo 

Just as the Founding Fathers of this great nation intended, another disgraced former congressman has joined Cameo, the distinctly 2024 platform that allows D-list celebrities and niche influencers to sell personalized videos to fans. Everyone give a warm welcome to former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who ended a 10-day, fever dream of a stint as Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general the only way you really can these days: by following in the footsteps of pro-Trump grifters like George Santos, Rudy Giuliani, Sean Spicer, Roger Stone, and Trump’s own son, Don Jr., and joining the video-selling app. 

As the New York Times reported on Monday, for the small cost of $500, Gaetz is at your service — though, fair warning, New York magazine didn’t exactly give a glowing review of his offerings, describing Gaetz’s videos since joining the platform on Friday as “nothing remarkable.” Per the Times, if it’s your birthday, expect a message like, “Any time you hit a zero it’s a big one, but turning 70 is pretty epic.” If it’s your wedding day — which, wow, celebrating your wedding with a personal message from an alleged sex trafficker is certainly a choice — Gaetz will likely impress upon you that “marriage is an amazing institution.” Heartwarming. And if you’re bummed out that he’s not going to be taking out the garbage at the Department of Justice (which recently investigated him for sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl), he will empathize: “I know you’re bummed out I’m not going to be taking out the garbage at the Department of Justice.”

While Gaetz isn’t commenting on the career pivot to reporters, Steven Galanis, the chief executive of Cameo, sounds pretty excited about the latest addition to his platform. The Times raised that Gaetz’s decision to join Cameo immediately after withdrawing from consideration for attorney general wasn’t in the best taste, given the circumstances of his withdrawal. But Galanis assured the outlet, “It’s important to strike while the iron is hot, when you’re having your moment. That’s when it’s going to resonate most with your fans.” It’s a sentiment echoed by Santos, another disgraced former congressman who shattered records when he joined Cameo last year shortly after being expelled from Congress for a whole range of fraud, including using campaign funds for Sephora purchases (honestly, real), Only Fans subscriptions, and botox. “There’s a fan base of people outside of politics who genuinely like politicians,” Santos, who charges $250 per video, told the Times. Santos also stressed that Cameo hopefuls must “have a personality, just have a personality.” Welp, for all Gaetz’s faults—which, again, include credible accusations of sexually exploiting a teenager—he certainly doesn’t lack for personality.

On Saturday, hours after Gaetz joined the platform, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) followed suit. Of course, as a current Congress member, there are restrictions on how much she can rake in from the app. Last year, Congress members were barred from earning over $31,815 outside of their annual salary. 

Other than Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former governor of Illinois, most current and former politicians on the platform are right-wingers with close ties to Trump. This… make sense: Trump is a textbook case of a reality TV star-turned-politician, and those in his orbit have adopted his reality TV star sensibilities, which then translate seamlessly into something like Cameo. 

“When Trump won, we were all like, ‘Do we want to reward an influencer through politics?’” Scaachi Koul, co-host of the Scamfluencers podcast, told Jezebel last year about Santos’ career pivot. “And now the question is, ‘Do you want to reward a fake politician with an influencer career?’” It’s unclear how successful Gaetz’s Cameo career has been four days in, but I’ve glimpsed enough videos out in the wild to ascertain that his Cameo is certainly appealing to some people. 

 
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