Bill Berrien – Bill for Wisconsin YouTube Screenshot
A Republican candidate who campaigned against transgender rights has dropped out of the Wisconsin governor’s race after a local newspaper revealed he had followed several sex- and relationship-focused blogs on Medium, including one authored by a nonbinary porn performer.
Bill Berrien, a former Navy SEAL and CEO of Pindel Global Precision, a manufacturer of precision-machined components, was one of three Republicans competing for the party’s nomination in the 2026 Wisconsin governor’s race.
The 56-year-old businessman faced an uphill battle in the primary, where political observers saw him as the most “moderate” candidate. That perception stemmed from his past support for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign, his backing of ranked-choice voting, and his criticism of Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Berrien’s biggest obstacle emerged last week, when the Journal Sentinelreported he was following Jiz Lee, a nonbinary queer adult film performer and producer for PinkLabel.tv, on Medium. Lee had written an article Berrien “clapped for” (the platform’s equivalent of a “like”) titled “Ethical Porn’ Starts When We Pay for It.”
The paper also noted that Berrien followed Medium publications such as Sexography and Polyamory Today, even “clapping” for an article titled “My Husband Loves Watching Me Flirt With Another Man.” He also followed writers including Octavio Morrison, author of “7 Types of Orgasmic Sensations” and “3 Terrible Reasons to Have a Threesome,” and Emma Austin, who wrote pieces like “Pegging is A-OK” and “I Love Getting Jackhammered.”
The Journal Sentinel reported that Berrien’s reading history on Medium was later scrubbed, with those accounts “unfollowed” after the paper reached out for comment.
Before Berrien dropped out, his campaign insisted he was not hypocritical for following Lee and other sex and relationship writers, arguing that his reading habits aligned with his “conservative Catholic values.” The campaign also said he was unaware of Lee’s nonbinary identity.
After several days of negative press, Berrien ended his campaign on September 26, saying it was “in the best interest of the party, voters, donors, and my family.” He also blasted the Journal Sentinel for its coverage, which he blamed for his exit, even as he pledged to stay active in politics through his Never Out Of The Fight PAC, supporting Republican candidates in Wisconsin.
Berrien defended his reading habits, saying he regularly consumes a wide range of material. “I consider myself intellectually curious…constantly trying to learn something new,” he said, noting that he follows thousands of accounts and newsletters across platforms. He accused the Journal Sentinel of cherry-picking a handful of articles from years ago to paint a “salacious and sensational picture” that forced him out of the race.
The sharpest criticisms of Berrien centered on allegations of hypocrisy: while following Lee on Medium, he also campaigned against transgender rights, even claiming transgender people were engaged in “radical social experimentation.”
Berrien ran several ads aligning himself with Donald Trump to boost his standing among conservative Republican voters. One ad thanked Trump for “stopping woke indoctrination and protecting our daughters’ sports.” Another attacked the current Democratic Gov. Tony Evers for vetoing a bill barring transgender athletes from girls’ teams, vowing to “keep boys out of our daughters’ sports and locker rooms.”
Lee, the performer whom Berrien followed, criticized the Republican for hypocrisy in a post on Bluesky.
“It’s okay to follow trans porn stars,” they wrote. “It’s okay to read articles about sex and relationships. What’s not okay is the hypocrisy of backing forceful legislation that restricts what people, trans and otherwise, can do with their own bodies. That is shameful.”
Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and the Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, recently aired a digital ad attacking Democratic opponent U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill for backing the state’s LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum standards. Established under a 2019 law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D), the standards require middle and high school students to learn about the political, economic, and social contributions of LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.
The premise behind the law is based on the belief that teaching students about figures like Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, and Alan Turing helps reduce bullying of LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming peers.
Nguyen Huong Giang, a transgender Vietnamese reality TV star, has been chosen to represent Vietnam at the 2025 Miss Universe pageant, becoming the country's first transgender contestant. Miss Universe Vietnam confirmed the historic selection in an Instagram post.
"The Miss Universe Vietnam Organization has made a special decision: to handpick an outstanding representative, someone who embodies feminine beauty, intelligence, confidence, resilience, and above all, a strong heart that never stops striving," the Instagram caption reads.
Elon Musk has waded into the Virginia governor's race to attack Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger, accusing her of "trying to weasel out" of a question about transgender students accessing bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. Musk shared a post on X highlighting Spanberger's response to WJLA reporter Nick Minock, who asked whether she supports "biological males who say they're women using women's locker rooms and bathrooms and competing in women's sports."
Spanberger stumbled in her response, noting that any attempt by a future Virginia governor or the Trump administration to impose a bathroom ban could run afoul of a 2020 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowing transgender students in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.