The U.S. Senate staffer who was allegedly filmed having sex in a hearing room is speaking out on his own terms for the first time since the scandal broke.
Aidan Maese-Czeropski, dubbed the “Senate Twink" by some on social media, was 24 when the video leaked in December, 2023. He is now living in Sydney, Australia, and recently toldGay Sydney News that he is "really just trying to enjoy life and work" after the international attention caused him to have a "total mental breakdown."
"I consider myself just a regular guy. However, it is alleged that I had sex in the United States Senate, and that is what I am allegedly known for," Maese-Czeropski said. "Mentally, I spent a little bit in the psych ward after the fact because it was just, it's overwhelming, you know, it's overwhelming to realize and to know that tens of millions of people literally despise you."
The video, first released by far-right outlet Daily Caller, showed two men in a sexual act in a Senate hearing room, a space typically reserved for legislative proceedings. Maryland Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Cardin's office released a statement shortly after the leak that revealed Maese-Czeropski was "no longer employed by the U.S. Senate." Capitol police launched an investigation into the matter, which was closed after they found no evidence of a crime.
Maese-Czeropski said that he became "a catatonic mess" when the video went public, and that he was unable to find work because "everyone in DC knew me," which felt "gross and horrifying." He instead "bought a one way ticket to Cape Town, South Africa" where he befriended and traveled with a woman from New Zealand. She suggested moving to Sydney, a city he immediately fell in love with.
Maese-Czeropski said that he has since been diagnosed with PTSD, and that he regularly sees a therapist and takes medication, but added, "I don't have any shame in that because when you go through something like that, it is just overwhelming and difficult to even comprehend."
"I think that one of the reasons why the scandal wasn't as traumatic as it could have been is because I was very depressed working in government," Maese-Czeropski said. "Like I hated my life. I hated my job. The pay was shit. I was making $38,000 a year. I didn't feel like I lost anything career wise when the scandal broke."
"My dream in life is to open a pigeon sanctuary. I'm very into birds. I love pigeons," he continued.
Maese-Czeropski said that he now has a full-time job that pays better than his position in government, and is focused on staying offline and enjoying the outdoors. He understands why the video received so much attention, but still believes there was some prejudice at play. While "I don't think that I was treated differently because it was gay sex," he said that "I do think that there is a difference in how people are judged if they are the submissive partner versus the dominant partner."
"I think no matter what, when you have something as salacious as sex in the Senate, it's going to go viral regardless of whether or not it's gay or straight," Maese-Czeropski said. "That being said, I've noticed that when you have sex scandals, the passive partner tends to take more of the blame, which is why I got all these death threats, hatred, and the guy who was the top didn't."
