Burbank Mayor Konstantine Anthony is facing criticism from largely conservative circles after he was recorded on video being spanked by a drag queen over the weekend, but he’s defending his actions and arguing that some of those critics are responding out of anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry.
In the video, Anthony can be seen getting spanked, a moment the clip shows synced to the Village People’s “Macho Man.”
Comments on the video, which was posted by the Armenian-American podcast WiseNuts, largely disparaged Anthony and his decision to participate. For its part, the WiseNuts account added the hashtags “#beaman,” “#clownshow” and “#embarrassing.”
“This is an excellent example of the humiliation a man will subject himself to in order to pander to the degenerate alphabet cult crowd. He debases the honor of elected office every time he appears in public,” wrote James Clarke, a candidate for state Assembly.
“I’m so proud of our Mayor in Burbank. He achieved the maximum level of stupidity,” added Alex Badalian.
In a City Council meeting on Tuesday, Anthony decided to respond to the critics.
“There were some shenanigans, some silly stuff happened, it was all fun and games,” he said. “Unbeknownst to the people in attendance, there was a secret video that was made and then shared to a very prominent hate group.”
Anthony did not specify the hate group to which he referred, but he possibly was referencing the prominent X – formerly Twitter – account Libs of TikTok, which reposted the video. It has been viewed 8 million times.
While the account claimed children were present, Anthony responded to their post with his assertion that “actually, there weren’t any children at this private 21+ event. But of course, lying is totally on brand for you.”
While the account correctly pointed out that people 15 and older were allowed to attend, the organizer of the Drag Queen Bingo event, the Santa Clarita Valley Democrats, released a statement explaining that no one under the age of 18 was present.
Anthony reiterated that no minors were present when he addressed the City Council meeting, and he added that the video’s spread has led to city officials receiving “some of the most vile hate speech that I have ever seen.”
Anthony suggested those who take issue with his actions email him directly at kanthony@burbankca.gov.
“If you want to talk to me about what happened over the weekend, send me an email. Send me an email. I will talk to you about it,” he said. “There is no reason to involve all of the other people who were not at a public event, not at a government-sponsored event. It wasn’t even in the city of Burbank.”
During the public comment portion that followed Anthony’s address, Burbank resident Joel Schlossman criticized the mayor’s behavior.
“There are people in this city with morals who care,” he said. “You cannot be a piece of s— when you go home and then come here and put on a suit and think that you’re high and mighty … We have somebody sitting at the head of the dais that is the lowest of the low.”
As an example of Anthony’s alleged immoral behavior, Schlossman claimed that the mayor and his wife practice polyamory.
“There’s many people that disagree with it. It’s an insult to marriage, and he insults marriage,” said Schlossman, who added “kiss my ass” as he left the speaker’s podium.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Santa Clarita Valley Democrats backed Anthony, adding that they “vehemently condemn[ed] the sensationalized and inaccurate use of our event for political clickbait in order to promote an agenda of fear, homophobia, transphobia, and bigotry.”
The Democrats further explained that “as an organization, we refuse to engage with this fake outrage.”
“We continue to stand in support of the LGBTQ+ community and Drag performers,” the statement added.
