TPUSA founder says he’s a ‘massive fan’ of Greenwald’s
Some of the most prominent Christian influencers — including the leader of the nation’s largest conservative youth organization — are defending the reputation of independent journalist Glenn Greenwald following the leak of a sexually explicit video of him.
Greenwald, 58, best known as a co-founding editor of The Intercept and a former Guardian columnist, said the video released May 30 on social media was done so by “maliciously political” actors. In a statement on X, Greenwald, calling the act “criminal,” said the sexually graphic videos “were released online depicting behavior in my private life. Some were distorted and others were not.”
According to clips shared on social media, the video shows Greenwald, who is openly gay, dressed in women’s clothing and engaging in what he called “fully consensual behavior” with another man. The footage reportedly includes a man speaking Portuguese demanding 10,000 Brazilian Real, or roughly $2,000, which Greenwald is seen paying via PayPal.
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Defending the content, Greenwald stated: “As for the content of the videos: I have no embarrassment or regret about them. The videos depict consenting adults engaged in intimate actions in their private lives. They all display fully consensual behavior, harming nobody.” Undeterred by the leak, Greenwald vowed: “It won’t change my work. I will continue all the many prongs of my journalism, and pursue the causes most important to me, exactly as before.”
Following the leak of the video, a number of Christian commentators put out statements in support of Greenwald, who was raised in a Jewish family but has said his “moral precepts aren’t informed in any way by religious doctrine.”
Former Daily Wire host Candace Owens wrote, “I said this on my last show ahead of maternity leave but would like to reiterate here: [Greenwald] is one of the most important and honest voices of our time. Everyone should follow and support his journalism,” and included a link to Greenwald’s YouTube channel.
Owens has referred to same-sex marriage as “a sin” and last year called the LGBT-identified community a “sexual plague on our society” after a school shooting in Perry, Iowa.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and its Christian-focused TPUSA Faith, expressed similar support, calling himself “a massive fan of Glenn’s work even though we don’t agree on everything, all the time.” Kirk added, “He’s a free speech warrior, one of the most consistent journalists anywhere, and he’s earned my respect.” He called the video leak “clearly politically motivated, criminal, and disgusting” and added any “slurs against him are equally disgusting.
“If those who did this think they will advance their cause by trying to embarrass Glenn — if that ends up being true — they are dead wrong,” Kirk wrote. “The exact opposite is sadly true.”
CP reached out to TPUSA Monday for comment. This article will be updated if a response is received.
Critics, however, responded to the video with questions about whether Greenwald’s personal life has an impact on his role as a journalist.
Jason Whitlock, a conservative commentator, asked whether one can “separate Glenn Greenwald’s courageous journalism from his immoral, degenerate personal life? Is there scripture to guide us here?” He later clarified: “I do think taking drugs, putting on a skirt, licking the toes of another man all inside the house where kids live are immoral/degenerate behaviors. In my view, Glenn is a child of God. The behavior exposed is immoral/degenerate.”
Greenwald responded to Whitlock’s question by drawing a comparison to former President Donald Trump, asking Whitlock, “Serious thoughtful question: how have you been able to separate what you regard as Donald Trump’s inspired and noble political leadership from the repeated behaviors in his private life long considered deeply immoral and degenerate under the most widespread and long-standing Christian and Western moral dogma: Overlapping affairs and marriages, serial adulteries, affairs with porn stars that he paid to cover up, closely cavorting with Jeffrey Epstein… and I could go on and on.”
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, another conservative voice, weighed in by alleging that Greenwald smeared him as “‘morally deranged’ for arguing that gay couples should not adopt children.”
Walsh also questioned Greenwald’s response to allegations of the video depicting a pipe for smoking methamphetamine — an allegation which Greenwald addressed but did not explicitly deny Monday.
Walsh wrote, “Greenwald was asked specifically about the apparent meth pipe in the video and he didn’t deny it. Instead he said he’s proud of his personal life. How can anyone defend this? There are three children in that home. Does anyone really think that a home with hard drug use and male prostitution is an appropriate or safe place for children?”
A co-founder of The Intercept, Greenwald left the outlet in 2020, alleging censorship over his coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. Known for his progressive roots, he frequently appears on conservative platforms like Fox News, defends free speech, and has also criticized U.S. military policies and Israel’s actions in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
