Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has fired back at Tucker Carlson after the right-wing commentator bizarrely accused him of being a “fake gay guy” and suggested subjecting him to an interrogation about gay sex. The exchange, which played out over podcast airwaves and public appearances, has drawn widespread attention for its strange tone and invasive implications.
While speaking at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor during a live interview with journalist Kara Swisher, Buttigieg was asked about Carlson’s comments. His response was sharp, humorous, and unmistakably firm.
“I cannot think of a topic I would like to discuss less with Tucker Carlson than that,” Buttigieg said with a chuckle, earning laughs and applause from the crowd. Swisher, clearly taken aback by the absurdity of Carlson’s claims, encouraged Buttigieg to respond with a flirtatious rejection: “You have to say, ‘Tucker, I’m not interested. Stop flirting with me.’”
The controversy began when Carlson, during an episode of his podcast earlier this month, claimed that Buttigieg’s sexuality wasn’t authentic. He said he had heard from a gay producer that Buttigieg wasn’t actually gay and suggested that the politician had strategically come out to benefit his political career. Carlson even proposed that he would ask Buttigieg “very specific questions about gay sex” to test his authenticity.
Buttigieg, who came out as gay in 2015 while serving as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, married his husband Chasten in 2018 and is now a father of two. Throughout his public life, he’s been transparent about his sexuality, his marriage, and his experience as a gay man in American politics. Carlson’s accusations, to many, seem both invasive and disconnected from reality.
Still, Buttigieg took the opportunity to inject some dry humor into his response. “I suppose it’s a sign of progress that their idea of a conspiracy is that I’m secretly straight,” he said. “We are through the looking glass now.”
The spectacle highlights a growing trend among certain political commentators to cast doubt on the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ public figures. The idea that someone must prove their queerness or meet an arbitrary standard set by critics is not just offensive—it’s dehumanizing. Buttigieg’s refusal to take the bait reframes the situation, asserting his dignity and privacy without giving Carlson the attention he craves.
Carlson’s accusations also underscore a peculiar form of projection: questioning someone else’s identity while having no direct understanding of it. For someone with no lived experience of queerness, Carlson’s attempt to quiz Buttigieg about gay sex came across to many as a desperate ploy for attention under the guise of political skepticism.
Buttigieg, on the other hand, came off composed and unbothered. He acknowledged a passing “morbid curiosity” about Carlson’s obsession, but quickly backtracked. “Actually, no,” he said, dismissing the notion of engaging with Carlson entirely.
What this moment illustrates is something queer people know all too well: the demand to justify one’s identity, especially in public, is exhausting, and often rooted in bad faith. Buttigieg’s public rejection of that demand sends a clear message: queerness is not a game show, and no one owes answers about their sex life to political pundits fishing for controversy.
As a high-profile LGBTQ+ figure, Buttigieg’s decision to respond with clarity, humor, and dignity resonates far beyond the podium. It reinforces a crucial principle: no one has to prove who they are, least of all to someone whose questions are designed to provoke rather than understand.
By the end of the conversation, Swisher reminded Buttigieg, and everyone listening, how to handle people like Carlson: “Just say you’re not interested. They go away real quick.”
With political discourse so often veering into the absurd, Buttigieg’s ability to stay grounded, even in the face of the bizarre, is a masterclass in grace under pressure. And in this case, his silence said just as much as his words: not everything, and certainly not everyone, is worth your time.
