This Year’s CPAC Will Have Yet Another Unaffiliated Party With Actors Playing 'Pimps and Prostitutes'

By Joanna Rothkopf  |  February 24, 2016 | 5:25pm
Politics

It’s just like your terrible college!

On Tuesday, several listservs sent out to actors and models received a call to participate in their democratic system. That call was for actors to play “Light Costume Characters” to promote a party at CPAC, the annual conservative political conference that attracts major Republican figures and, this year (from March 2-5), presidential nominees.

Among the patriotic costume characters needed: a prostitute and pimp! One email, which came from an organization called Spokesmodels.com, was forwarded to Jezebel by tipster Manda Writes Things. It reads:

Hello Talent,
I have a client that is looking for 8 Personable and Friendly Talent(4 Females and 4 Males) to be Light Costume Characters for CPAC 2016 on March 4, 2016.
Dates/Hours/Rate:
March 4 – 12pm-2pm (possibly go with client to buy a costume) – $15/hr
March 4 – 2pm-10pm – $22/hr + $13 for parking
Duties: Take Pictures with Attendees and Help pass out Flyers for a party later that night.
Attire: Costume characters, such as a pimp and prostitute, UPS Man, Repairman, and others.
Please let me know if you are available and interested for being considered for the booking.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Best Regards,
Shawn

Shawn Wirtz, president and booking manager of Spokesmodels.com and the man who sent the email above, said he wasn’t sure who the party was for.

“I’m just doing my job,” he said in a Facebook message to Jezebel. “I make sure the client gets the professional talent to do the job, and the talent is treated professionally and paid quickly.”

It would seem, however, that the party is a repeat from last year. Spokesmodels.com’s Facebook page features a post from March 2, 2015, which thanks the actors that participated at CPAC 2015. “They were able to dress up in costumes for our client and be able to expand their reach to their target market,” the post reads. “We don’t have any pictures, but we still like to show our appreciation of their work.”

But photographs of model-actors dressed up as a prostitute and pimp at CPAC 2015 do exist. It seems they were there to promote a party thrown by conservative activist James O’Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, a right wing nonprofit that produces selectively-edited gotcha videos. O’Keefe has been caught attempting to seduce journalists and other potential threats to catch their reactions on camera.

A photograph taken by MSNBC at last year’s event depicts a man dressed as a pimp. The caption reads, “A hired performer dressed as a pimp talks with people in line to get into a Project Veritas meet and greet party in a bar at the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, MD on Friday night, February 27, 2015.”

A CPAC spokesperson denied that the posting was affiliated with the conference. James O’Keefe has not responded to request for comment.

Contact the author at [email protected].

Image via AP.

 
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