A West Virginia delegate who sponsored a bill forbidding the teaching of sexuality in public schools went viral on social media with a video of an explicit discussion of advice for women receiving oral sex.
Delegate Joe Jeffries, R-Putnam, posted the video on Tiktok, a social media platform popular among youth that features short-form videos.
Jeffries, whose page is described as a blend of political commentary and humor, looks into the camera and graphically gives advice about how vigorously women should react to oral sex by men, so “that it just drives you wild.”
The video was made private this morning so the public can no longer see the original version without receiving permission from Jeffries. Other videos on Jeffries’ page, @WV_Viper, are somewhat edgy but this one stood out.
Jeffries didn’t immediately respond to an email inquiry from MetroNews or to an invitation to provide reaction via Twitter.
House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, called Jeffries’ activities an embarrassment, referring to prior issues as well. Hanshaw said the only action he has the power to take is stripping Jeffries of a committee vice chairman position, which Hanshaw did today.
“Serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates has been the honor of my lifetime, but not everyone has the same respect for this office, our body or their fellow members. When you take the oath, you are serving not just your district, but also the entire state. I have been asked to weigh in on the activities of one of our members, but it is up to each of our constituents to be the ultimate judges of our actions,” Hanshaw stated this afternoon.
“I believe Joe Jeffries is an embarrassment not just to the House of Delegates, but to the entire state. He has shown us more than once that he does not respect the office he was elected to serve. I am but one member among 100, and his constituents will have the opportunity at the ballot box in 2022 to decide whether he represents them as they wish.
The Putnam County GOP Executive Committee issued a statement today that “very strongly condemns the content of the video published by Delegate Jeffries.”
“Content of this nature does not represent the values of the Putnam County Republican Party,” the executive committee stated. “While all American citizens are entitled to their right to freedom of speech, the Putnam County Executive Committee expects our public representatives to conduct themselves with professionalism on all public forums.”
Reactions to the video circulated heavily among Twitter users in West Virginia on Thursday evening, particularly among some of Jeffries’ fellow delegates.
I didn't have @JoeJeffriesWV being a TikTok star on my #wvpol bingo card but that video circulating is … something. Yeesh.
— Shawn Fluharty (@WVUFLU) July 8, 2021
When you lead sponsor a bill banning teaching sexuality but your tiktok is your sex ed hot takes.
No sex shaming here, but the hypocrisy knows no bounds.
— Kayla Young (@kaylayoungforwv) July 9, 2021
The silence from @WVGOP is deafening this morning. The same Delegate who introduced legislation banning Sex Ed has a plethora of vulgar videos on a social media platform aimed at teenagers. Where’s @FamilyPolicyWV? Where’s GOP Leadership?
— (((Mike Pushkin))) (@pushkinforhouse) July 9, 2021
West Virginia Democratic Party Chairwoman Belinda Biafore issued a statement critical of Jeffries.
“GOP Delegate Joe Jeffries is an elected official representing his constituency in the House of Delegates and this type of behavior is unacceptable from an individual who is charged with making decisions on behalf of the people he was elected to represent,” Biafore stated.
WARNING, GRAPHIC. Here is the exact phrasing of what Jeffries said as he looked into the camera on social media video:
Woman: “They say sit on your face. Do you mean sit or hover?”
Jeffries: “So here’s the thing ladies. If he’s not pushing you up, gasping for air, then you are probably doing it wrong. You should be rubbing that thing all over his face, like hard. His nose should be shoving your clit so far back up inside of you that it just drives you wild. Sit, not hover, sit. Push down. All your weight He’ll take care of the rest.”
Jeffries was elected to the House of Delegates in 2018. His professional experience includes working as a maintenance manager and truck driver.
He has run into earlier conflicts too.
During the most recent legislative session, when lawmakers were to wear masks in committee meetings and floor sessions, Jeffries stood out by wearing a mesh mask. That received attention both in the state and nationally.
And late in the regular session, when tensions ran high between delegates and senators over a bill that would have restricted the governor’s emergency powers, Jeffries was accused of yelling a graphic comment about Gov. Jim Justice at a group of senators.
Jeffries had been among a large group of delegates waiting in the hallway during a conference committee meeting, and multiple witnesses described him making the comment as the meeting ended.
Senator Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, later responded by calling out Jeffries in a speech that defended his colleagues and the governor.
“Here’s the question directed at our conferees, ‘How does the governor’s genitalia taste?'” Woelfel said on the Senate floor, paraphrasing the exact wording.
“That’s loathsome. That’s vile. That’s despicable, and I condemn that behavior.”
Governor Justice, at a regular briefing a few minutes later, said Jeffries should apologize specifically to Sens. Charles Trump, R-Morgan; Charles Clements, R-Wetzel; and Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, along with the entire Senate.
The governor said Jeffries should either be “kicked out of the House, period, or he should absolutely be told that he has to make a public apology to these great people because that behavior is absolutely intolerable.”