More than a year before #BeardedButtigieg became a trending topic on social media, the husband of the Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor weighed in supporting the idea of Pete Buttigieg growing facial hair.
“All in favor of @PeteButtigieg participating in #Movember,” Chasten Buttigieg tweeted in November 2018, referring to the charitable campaign to raise funds for men’s health issues in which men grow beards for the month of November.
“Grow the beard!” Chasten wrote in a follow-up response, before jokingly adding, “Pete with facial hair is 100 but his body his choice!”
All in favor of @PeteButtigieg participating in #Movember ?♂️
— Chasten Buttigieg (@Chasten) November 1, 2018
Grow ? the ? beard!?
Grow ? the ? beard!?— Chasten Buttigieg (@Chasten) November 2, 2018
Pete with facial hair is ? but his body his choice
— Chasten Buttigieg (@Chasten) November 1, 2018
#BeardedButtigieg became a trending topic late this week after “Trick” director Jim Fall posted images of a more hirsute Buttigieg using FaceApp, which alters existing photos to add facial hair or tattoos or otherwise change a person’s appearance. “I’m voting that Buttigieg should have a beard,” Fall wrote in a Thursday post that soon went viral.
Fall told The Advocate that he created the images after being “impressed” by Buttigieg’s performance in Wednesday’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas. “I’m still on the fence about who I’ll vote for ultimately, but both Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren have stayed at the top of my list,” he said. “Elizabeth doesn’t look so good in a beard or mustache, so I didn’t post those.
“It’s amazing to me that we are living in a time where an out gay married man is a serious contender for the presidency,” he added. “No matter what you feel about his specific politics, the LGBTQ community should be celebrating. I see so many gay men on social media knocking him down, and it’s disheartening.”
Reps for the Buttigieg campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.