U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe turned her team’s World Cup victory parade Wednesday into a feminist– and LGBT-themed pride rally.
The U.S. Women’s Nation Team’s celebration took place in the streets of New York City, where they were cheered by thousands of fans and showered in confetti. Rapinoe, a purple-haired team captain and winger, was the center of attention – as she has been throughout the World Cup.
In a viral video posted to Instagram by her teammate, goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, Rapineo held a bottle of champagne in one hand and the World Cup trophy in the other. She thrust one leg up on barrier in a triumphant power-pose.
“I deserve this!” she shouted, making a duck face behind her big, red sunglasses. “I deserve this.”
“What do you deserve?” Harris asked, egging her on.
“Everything. Everything,” Rapinoe responded.
“Nothing like being humble”
Social media users cheered Rapinoe, who is a lesbian, as an icon of progressive empowerment.
MORE: Megan Rapinoe Makes ‘Equal Pay’ Case on MSNBC – Accidentally Proves Why Men Get Paid More
Democratic consultant Emmy Bengtson tweeted the video, declaring: “‘I DESERVE THIS’ is a mood, an inspiration, a battle cry for women nationwide.”
However, conservatives were more inclined to see Rapinoe’s posturing as fitting symbol of progressive self-righteousness. The Daily Wire’s Amanda Prestigiacomo called the video “Extremely off-putting.”
“Funny thing is she thinks being an egotistical narcissist is some feminist stand,” Prestigiacomo commented. “When men praise their teammates and coaches after winning and showing humility, that’s strength. Same goes for women.”
Right-wing personality Paul Joseph Watson alluded to Rapinoe’s anti-Trump advocacy, which has included boycotting an invitation to the White House before it was made. He opined that she “appears to be getting more insufferable by the day.”
“Nothing like being humble,” he said.
Conservative Canadian lawyer Manny Montenegrino trolled Rapinoe by alluding to her team’s 2017 blowout loss to a U15 boy’s team.
https://twitter.com/manny_ottawa/status/1149134513877979136
Chelsea Rapinoe says we all deserve everything
After the parade, Rapinoe delivered a speech on the steps of City Hall. After semi-apologizing for what she acknowledged was her divisive rhetoric, she issued a call for national unity.
“It’s time to come together,” she said. “We have to collaborate. It takes everybody. This is my charge to everybody: Do what you can. Do what you have to do. Step outside yourself. Be more. Be better. Be bigger than you’ve ever been before.”
MORE: MSNBC Anchor Apologizes After Megan Rapinoe Roars a Profanity on Live TV
Rapinoe held up her team as an example.
“We got pink hair and purple hair. We got tattoos and dreadlocks. We got white girls and black girls and everything in between. We got straight girls and gay girls,” she said.
Then, she bellowed: “New York City, you’re the mother-fucking best!”
"This is my charge to everyone: We have to be better. We have to love more. Hate less. We got to listen more and talk less," Megan Rapinoe says. "It's our responsibility to make the world a better place." https://t.co/7LJHPDVRm9 pic.twitter.com/5s5OuS4Gsx
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 10, 2019
The address drew further praise from liberals, including a glowing write-up in The New York Times, which gushed that she “did not disappoint” and called her words “memorable.”
Leaving aside some snowflakery about Rapinoe’s cursing, conservatives weren’t buying her sudden claim to be a champion for all Americans.
She literally yesterday said she didn't want to listen to people who disagree with her. https://t.co/8SwmQXu52P
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) July 10, 2019
Others, including the National Review’s Kyle Smith, were just ready for her to go away.
wow I did not know who Megan Rapinoe was until a week ago and I'm already sick of her
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) July 10, 2019
However, that may not be happening anytime soon. CNN reported Wednesday that the New York Police Department is investigating vandalism of Rapinoe posters in one of the city’s subway stations as a hate crime.
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