A YouTuber was told by Toronto police that naked men exposing their genitals to kids on the street during the Pride Parade was ‘okay.’
“I just want to make sure I’m not working outside of any laws or anything like that,” political commentator Rob Primo said when he called the department during a recent episode. “If you want to be out in the street, you have to be fully clothed and you can’t be naked or anything like that, right?”
“Well, I mean, there are naked people running around on the street,” an officer responded.
“Okay, but is that against the law?” Primo asked.
“That’d be some mental health issues,” answered the officer.
“I agree with you on that one,” Primo stated. “I’m having a hard time. Yesterday I’ve seen a bunch of people naked in front of children and police officers…seeing men with their penis out in front of kids and I’m just wondering if that’s acceptable?”
“Was that part of the Pride you mean? Was that on the weekend?” the officer asked.
Primo answered, “Yeah, it was at the Pride parade.”
“Yeah, yeah, so that’s, that’s always the issue then each year… I mean that happens every year,” the officer said.
Another group of nudists take part in the Toronto Pride Parade.
Footage by @BethBaisch pic.twitter.com/Qu83pZZXsE
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 25, 2023
“Oh, so…it’s okay for when it’s at the pride parade but not in other situations obviously?” Primos asked.
A group of naked people marches in the Toronto Pride Parade, which has many children in attendance. One is pulling a cart with a sign that says “Body acceptance. You can be naked too!”
Footage by @PuffinsPictures pic.twitter.com/3wUUpGIdvF
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 27, 2022
The officer responded, “Exactly…I would say so.”
Beth Baisch documented full-frontal nudity in front of children at the Toronto Pride Parade on Sunday. In 2022, of the paraders wore a Bugs Bunny mask and fluffy white slippers while slowly hopping down the street.
A naked man in a Bugs Bunny mask hops through the Toronto Pride Parade, which has many children in the audience.
Footage by @PuffinsPictures pic.twitter.com/xCJCEfkral
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 26, 2022
The event is the largest Pride parade in Canada and had many corporate sponsors and participants including Bud Light and Air Canada.
Several Liberal MPs including Trudeau’s Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland march in the Toronto Pride Parade.
Footage by @PuffinsPictures pic.twitter.com/5qW4NRJEch
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 27, 2022
Local politicians also participated in the event.
Meanwhile in Seattle, a similar situation took place.
Seattle’s 49th annual LGBTQ+ Pride event took place on Sunday, beginning in the city’s downtown district at 11 a.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) and finishing at 3 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) near the Space Needle north of Belltown.
According to its official website, the parade usually attracts around 300,000 people.
But images of the nude cyclists posted online by Libs of Tiktok, a conservative account known for anti-LGBTQ+ content, and right-wing news outlet Breitbart, among others, sparked a debate among social media users.
“I’m all for pride, but this is not that. Why were they not arrested?” William Scott Lowe tweeted. “Like I said, I believe in LGBTQ rights, but being naked in front of kids is a crime.”
“I believe it is called indecent exposure,” Chase Lanford wrote. “It is not an acceptable standard for anyone else, why should it be acceptable for him to do simply because he is homosexual?”
Local news channel KOMO reported that the Seattle Police Department had received no official complaints over the nudity and had made no arrests. A spokesperson for the force stressed to Newsweek that their role at the event had been to ensure safety and security, rather than regulate the behavior of attendees.
I'm all for pride, but this is not that. Why were they not arrested? Like I said, I believe in LGBTQ rights, but being naked in front of kids is a crime.
— William Scott Lowe (@lowe110711) June 26, 2023
Other social media users raised the city’s relaxed laws concerning public nudity.
“Seattle has no nudity laws,” one Twitter user said. “Nudity happens at Pride, at solstice, at many of the parks and swimming holes, and is not out of the norm at some of the other large events. Been like that since I was a kid.”
According to local NPR affiliate KUOW, it is legal to be nude anywhere within Seattle—though there are limits to this freedom, and nudists tend to congregate in known spots.
Indecent exposure is still prohibited, however Seattle’s municipal code stipulates that the prosecution must prove the person knew that their conduct was “likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm.”
“If you live in Seattle and don’t want your children exposed to the genitalia of adults, don’t take them to the Pride parade. Simple,” one Twitter user wrote. “If the law in your city allows public nudity, move.”
Another wrote: “Straight people bike naked in Seattle and no one says a word until it happens at Pride.”
Seattle-area police are going all hands on deck to urgently find the people in a vehicle responsible for leaving skidmarks on a progress #pride crosswalk. @KirklandWAPD released photos of the offending car: https://t.co/2ytk9lprU1
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 29, 2023
The naked bikers have been a part of Seattle Pride since there was a Seattle Pride, we have a non appeasement practice with fascists
— Anarcotic (@GregoryEbbs1) June 25, 2023
