Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's College Dance Video: A Tempest in a Teapot?
A seemingly innocent four-minute dance video, filmed eight years prior on the roof of Boston University's College of Arts & Sciences, unexpectedly catapulted into the spotlight. The reason? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The Genesis of the Video
The video's origins trace back to a group of student ambassadors at the Howard Thurman Center, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Inspired by John Hughes movies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink, which showcased iconic moments and shared cast members, they wanted to create a similar showcase of their community.
Baker, who shot the video with classmate Julian Jensen, explained, "We thought it was fun and a great way to showcase your community. If we could jump on the ball, we thought we could do a Boston University mashup."
After scouting rooftops for the best lighting, the group filmed the video on a Saturday morning in mid-September. Fernandez, then the assistant director of the Howard Thurman Center, recalled arriving early with bagels and muffins for the cast and crew. "It was one of the best days I’ve ever had at BU," he said, emphasizing the joy of creating together.
The video, set to Phoenix's "Lisztomania," was screened at a men's hockey game and during orientation, and then shared on YouTube. For years, it remained relatively obscure.
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The Video's Resurgence and the "Scandal"
The election of Ocasio-Cortez to Congress in 2018 brought renewed attention to the video. As views increased, Baker disabled comments. However, the video truly exploded when an anonymous account tweeted it, attempting to portray Ocasio-Cortez as a "clueless nitwit."
Ocasio-Cortez seized the opportunity, politicizing the situation. She accused Republicans of believing that "having fun should be disqualifying or illegal," and posted a video of herself dancing outside her Capitol Hill office, accompanied by the message: "I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous. Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too!"
This response went viral, fueled by millennial nostalgia for "Lisztomania" and a media landscape eager to portray conservatives as having "lost it." Multiple websites declared Ocasio-Cortez the target of a "smear campaign."
Republican Reactions and the Backlash Against the Backlash
Despite the narrative of outrage, some Republicans insisted that nobody cared about the video. Rep. Dan Crenshaw tweeted that the dancing was "actually pretty good." Others argued that the media was attempting to distract from Ocasio-Cortez's policy proposals by inventing right-wing outrage.
Benny Johnson of the Daily Caller wrote, "There is literally no evidence that any human Republican shamed AOC over her dancing video," while Fox News' Brian Flood lamented the "slew of misleading stories claiming conservatives were outraged over it, despite virtually no supporting evidence."
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Some observers suggested that Republicans had learned that attacking Ocasio-Cortez often backfired, solidifying her status. Criticizing her for an innocent homage to an '80s movie would have been a catastrophic misstep.
Ocasio-Cortez's Political Prowess
The dance video incident highlighted Ocasio-Cortez's ability to use social media to her advantage. Some on the right worried that she might be emulating Donald Trump's "no-fucks-to-give" political style, using social media to bypass traditional gatekeepers and connect directly with the public.
Like Trump, Ocasio-Cortez was able to deflect criticism, portraying it as personal attacks driven by her age, race, and gender. She effectively granted herself immunity from inaccuracies by arguing that focusing on minor details meant "missing the forest for the trees."
The Broader Implications
Ocasio-Cortez's social media savvy and progressive views have encouraged fellow Democrats to embrace bolder policy proposals. While the immediate changes she and her allies are demanding may not happen quickly, the attacks from the right could fuel their momentum.
Some attempts to discredit Ocasio-Cortez, such as a Daily Caller video of her dancing to the Soviet national anthem and accusations that she lied about her nickname, were widely mocked. When conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson tweeted a modified version of the dance video with offensive lyrics, his followers embraced it.
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Critics have suggested that if the right truly fears Ocasio-Cortez's policies, they should stop helping her look "cool" and focus on substantive arguments.
Allegations of Misappropriated Funds
In a separate development, Americans for Public Trust, a nonpartisan organization, sent a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), questioning "several troubling expenses" from AOC's disbursements, which they claim are "in contravention of federal law and the standards of the House of Representatives."
Each member of Congress receives a Member Representational Allowance ("MRA"), a budget for official duties that "may not be used for personal or campaign purposes," according to the Congressional Research Service.
The organization specifically pointed to payments for activities such as dance classes. Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, stated, "Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s troubling payments from her taxpayer funded account for activities such as dance classes should be investigated… In the era of reining in government spending, the American people deserve to know lawmakers are being good stewards of their tax dollars."
Ocasio-Cortez responded on social media, claiming that the expenses were not taxpayer money but an FEC filing. However, Americans for Public Trust countered that her assertion was "both troubling and obviously incorrect," suggesting that she may not understand the difference between campaign funds and her MRA.
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