Remember that time Ted Cruzaccidentally likedan adult-video Tweet? The incident was somewhat swept from sight when Cruzâs officeblamedthe incident on a rogue staffer. But the internet remembers, and thereâs a reason people might be recirculatingall the gifsfrom that incident now.
The Republican senatorfinds himself once again entangled with adult entertainment. This time, NFTs are involved.
It all began at a Yankees game last week, where the jumbotron panned to Cruz in the crowd and he was metwith a chorus of boos. The ballgame visit was brought up on his podcastâyes, Ted Cruz has his own podcast called âVerdict with Ted Cruz,â and I listen to it religiouslyâandthe conversationturned to a scantily-clad woman behind him at the game.
Co-host Ben Ferguson, who was not at the Yankees-Astros match-up, explained that the woman was a hot topic in the Cruz-overse during the game: âeverybodyâs tweeting me or texting me going, âWho is that sitting behind him?ââ
As for Cruz himself, he explained. âMy buddy Jeff leaning next to me, he sort of leans over and tells me, âOkay, sheâs behind you. âSheâs selling an NFT.â So she had some sign and sheâs selling it and she hasâto use theMonty Python phrase, âShe has great tracts of land.'â (He meant she has large breasts.)
He then remembered, âshe was actually very niceâshe and I took a selfie.â
Cruz, who once actuallysaidthat his life goal was to star in a âteen tit film,â talked about the enormous act of will it took not to stare at the womanâs bosom, which was printed with the pink text âNFT,â fearing that the image would be caught on camera and used to embarrass him.
The senatorâs comments on the NFT model drewa lotof attentionthis week. But who was the mystery woman? And what was the NFT project she was promoting? Some kind of Bored Ape thing? Was it World of Women? Was it art?
Some internet sleuthing determined that the womanâs shirt said either âNFT Hotelâ or âNFT Hotel.â And sure enough,on Instagramwe discovered an obscure NFT project called NFTmotel.io. The account was ecstatic for the attention that their model, who goes byPippin DDD, had received by her proximity to Cruz.
What, you may wonder, isNFTmotel.io(besides a really bad idea for a motel)?
As it turns out, it is a start-up that promises to be an NFT-powered version of OnlyFans. âWith never-before-seen blockchain technology,â itboasts, âNFTmotel.io is bringing Web3 Adult Entertainment to the next level, allowing customers to experience their favourite stars and models up close and personal like never before.â
Its âPink Paperâ mentions being able to use the MOTEL token to enter private online rooms and âPeep Shows,â and teases something called âProject XXX,â which will be â[b]eyond webcam shows, beyond a girlfriend âexperience,â beyond your wildest imagination.â
âCheck it outâitâs entrepreneurial!â says Kevin OâLeary of Shark Tank in a pitch for NFTmotel featured on the project website.
Weirdly, the website also highlights video endorsements from twoShark Tankjudges, Kevin âMr. Wonderfulâ OâLeary and For Us By Us businessman Daymond John. In their shout-out to NFTmotel, neither man mentions the adult content part of the business. Both seem to think that they are endorsing an NFT experience that somehow supports âmilitary families.â
So, on top of being an adult NFT, Cruz seems to have entered into an unwitting flirtation with a crypto-project of an at least mildly scammy nature.
The irony here comes from the fact that Cruz himself actually is a fanatical crypto booster. The senator made headlines when he introducedlegislationthat would limit the Federal Governmentâs ability to regulate digital currency. âI want Texas to betheoasis on planet Earth for bitcoin and crypto,â hesaidearlier this year.
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ted-cruz-nft-model-nftmotel-2200646