US creator claims he received death threats after posing as male escort at Republican convention
Nick Pringle’s exposé aimed to uncover people pushing anti-LGBTQ+ policies while being queer themselves
By Aaron Sugg
US social media creator Nick Pringle has claimed he received death threats after going undercover at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas as a male escort.
In a viral social media video seen by more than 9.2 million people, he said he wanted to expose what he sees as anti-LGBTQ+ hypocrisy among Republican politicians and religious leaders.
His main focus was to uncover those who support policies restricting LGBTQ+ rights while allegedly engaging in same-sex activity themselves.
Nick Pringle’s attempt to uncover closeted Republicans
He said he would use Grindr and escort websites to try to make contact with convention attendees and potentially document what happened.
After attending the event on 9 and 10 September at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, Pringle returned to social media yesterday (14 September).
“I’ve had to go a little radio silent over the last few days because, as you can imagine, I have been fielding a considerable amount of death threats,” Pringle explained.
Pringle confronts death threats
He thanked those who had reached out in support, but Pringle also spoke out about the violent messages he had received from viewers and how he planned to deal with them.
“What am I to do with these people? I’ve been getting a lot of calls, a lot of emails, a lot of DMs, a lot of texts, with death threats, just saying horrible things,” said the content creator.
He proposed two alternatives: either he goes to the authorities or publicly calls and exposes each person on social media. “What would be the most terrible thing that I could do back to you?” said Pringle.
Hasan Piker in his underwear
The Republican National Committee’s midterm convention also went viral for displaying a picture of left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker in his underwear on one of the overhead screens.
The photo formed part of a longer video featuring attacks on Democrats and figures on the political left. Reports also suggested that Grindr usage surged during the convention, though this was later confirmed to be false.