A new development in the bizarre story involving West Hollywood City Council candidate Eric Jon Schmidt.
On Monday, WEHOville ran a story about Schmidt, claiming he was encouraging voters to check out his DudesNude profile, which includes x-rated photos and videos of him, to learn more about him as a candidate.
“Eric Jon Schmidt … has promised to run an absolutely transparent campaign,” the outlet reported. “That apparently includes his willingness to continue posting photos and videos of him having sex.”
The profile included a total 23 photos, some solo and some featuring Schmidt with other men, along with six videos of him engaged in various sex acts.
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In an email to WEHOville, Schmidt said, “I am 100% transparent. I have nothing but good intentions and I am not running against anyone, just their seats. I have nothing negative to say about the others and never will.”
Related: City council candidate vows to run “transparent” campaign, shares his x-rated photos and videos
The next day, Queerty reported on another sexy profile featuring Schmidt, this one on the site XVideos.com. The profile, which has since been deleted, contained 194 photos and 27 videos.
Well, what a different four days makes. Because now Schmidt says he didn’t “release” the images as part of his campaign strategy. Instead, he says, they were shared as a “personal vendetta” against him by the WEHOville’s publisher, Henry Scott.
“Those pictures were not released as part of my campaign,” Schmidt tells one media outlet. “Basically, Henry, the guy who runs WEHOville, seems to have a personal vendetta against me.”
“He called me and said, ‘I know about the DudesNudes profile and I’m gonna run a story about it.’ I’m not ashamed of it, so I wasn’t going to lie about it.”
When asked what the “vendetta” might be about, Schmidt said he wasn’t exactly sure but it could have something to do with that fact that he once submitted an article to WEHOville years ago that the editors rejected.
When asked for comment, Scott said “I am a long time journalist and media business executive … and have and always will follow a basic journalism standard: to publish without fear or favor. So, no, I do not have a ‘vendetta’ against Mr. Schmidt.”
Scott adds that he doesn’t know Scmidt personally but that “I’ve met him briefly and he emails me several times a day.”
Related: Candidate shared x-rated photos in the spirit of ‘transparency’; now 200 MORE have surfaced
Creamsicle
Sounds to me like a local journalist wants to make a name for himself by “leaking,” something on a political campaign. I personally hope that Schmidt wins because it could demonstrate that historically gay communities like West Hollywood don’t need to buy into puritanical heteronormative principles, like the belief that promiscuity lowers your value as a person.
Donston
My vote would not be determined based on nude photos or a porn past. But I am also uncomfortable with the “all gay men support promiscuity and most indulge it” stance you pretty much just took. Please don’t throw everyone into that category. And yes, someone with that extreme of an online history and who is also a politician leaves me uncomfortable. And you don’t have to be puritanical to have that perspective.
Troyfight
^Very much agree with you, Creamsicle – local journalist wants to make a name and probably won’t come out on the losing end at all, despite being a vulture. Schmidt’s kinda cute btw….
PinkoOfTheGange
For me this just destroy’s any credibility of Scott:
“Scott adds that he doesn’t know Scmidt personally but that “I’ve met him briefly and he emails me several times a day.” ”
It seems to be a dog whistle.
inbama
All this fuss so late after the fact that I haven’t that I haven’t been able to see or find a single embarrassing video.
Paco
It’s more likely that he “overexposed” himself and received a lot of negative feedback and is now backtracking. I saw his comments for the article, responding to the comments from others, and he wasn’t making any vendetta claims.
chris33133
I’m having a very hard time reconciling the various quotes being attributed to Mr. Schmidt.
My first reading of how he was quoted in the initial article shows that he intended to be open about all aspects of his life.
Now it seems that he may have said something about being 100% transparent in one context (say in terms of his fund raising efforts) and that quote being lifted and used in another context (say as an ironic justification for releasing his various pictures and videos).
As Alice is reputed to have said while in Wonderland: “curioser and curioser.” If I were a voter, I’d put this stuff aside as a distraction and double down on what he says and has done about “the issues” (such as they are) in WeHo.
Gregg
Crocodile tears. That release was the best campaign publicity he could possibly get!
seaguy
So much for owning up to his pics and vids and not being ashamed of them.