Rhode Island state senator responds to criticism of twerking TikTok video

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — A Rhode Island state lawmaker who gyrated upside down in a bikini on the beach and posted it on social media is getting national attention.

Sen. Tiara Mack’s Fourth of July TikTok video has been viewed thousands of times and gotten thousands of comments, including from prominent right-wing critics.

At the end of the quick video, Mack says to the camera, "Vote Senator Mack." The first-term progressive Democrat from Providence is seeking re-election.

Mack tweeted her thoughts after some of the backlash.

Damn. Twerking upside down really makes the conservative, unhinged internet accounts pop off on a Monday," she wrote.

Mack returned a message from WJAR on Tuesday, but she refused an on-camera interview.

She told WJAR over the phone that it's disappointing what is considered newsworthy in Rhode Island and that when it comes to coverage of her, the media errs on the side of racist and sexist tropes while her accomplishments in the legislature and as a national champion rugby player are not covered.

Mack went on TikTok to address some of the comments she's received and said the video will probably help her get re-elected.

My constituents fricking love that I’m a real person and fun and not a robot,” she said in one video.

I’m trying to determine which point of envy these people are mad at. Is the Ivy League degree? Is it the sitting state senator? Is it the bodacious body? Because the hate is real and abundant,” Mack said in another.

Gov. Dan McKee's reaction when asked about it is priceless, too.

"I have not seen it. What was the term you used? Twerking? I don’t even know what that means,” McKee told reporters Tuesday.

Mack's opponent in the Senate District 6 Democratic primary, former state Rep. Joe Almeida, told WJAR that the video is not only disrespectful to the Senate, but as a father of daughters, he found the video "an insult to all women."

The Republican in the race, Adriana Bonilla, told WJAR that she has respect for all people, but said after watching Mack's video she was "left without words."

The state Republican Party is now fundraising off the video, trying to help Bonilla defeat who they term "Twerking Tiara Mack."