The internet was abuzz Wednesday over the reported market price haircut Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) received last month.
The Washington Times, a conservative outlet, reported Wednesday that Ocasio-Cortez spent nearly $300 at Last Tangle In Washington Salon, breaking that down into an $80 haircut and $180 lowlights (and factoring in a speculated 20% tip of $52), which matches the prices listed for those services on the salon’s website.
The congresswoman, known for her social media presence, retweeted the article, writing: “40 million Americans live in poverty under today’s extreme inequality, yet the right-wing want you to blame Democratic socialism for their own moral failures. Our policies, like Medicare for All, advance prosperity for working people. They’re just mad we look good doing it”. She ended the tweet with an emoji of a woman lifting her hair.
40 million Americans live in poverty under today’s extreme inequality, yet the right-wing want you to blame Democratic socialism for their own moral failures.
Our policies, like Medicare for All, advance prosperity for working people.
They’re just mad we look good doing it ♀️ https://t.co/l9gKGtyKra
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 10, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez, who turned 30 on Sunday, later retweeted an Oct. 7 tweet from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), linking to an article about Vice President Mike Pence’s exorbitant spending on limousine services during his official visit to Ireland in early September.
“Won’t you look at that: Mike Pence used *taxpayer funds* – not personal ones – to spend several thousand haircuts’ worth of public money on a visit to Trump golf courses. I wonder if Republicans care about corruption as much as they care about a woman’s cut & color.”
Won’t you look at that: Mike Pence used *taxpayer funds* – not personal ones – to spend several thousand haircuts’ worth of public money on a visit to Trump golf courses.
I wonder if Republicans care about corruption as much as they care about a woman’s cut & color. https://t.co/xBze4obZhv
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 10, 2019
The CREW report, citing State Department records, said Pence spent nearly $600,000 in taxpayer money on limousine services alone to travel to and from Dublin and Doonbeg during the visit. Pence was meeting with Irish political leaders in Dublin but chose to stay at President Donald Trump’s resort 181 miles away in Doonbeg.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, on Friday criticized Pence for not providing specific information about the trip. But Pence seemingly hasn’t taken the same flack Ocasio-Cortez has.
Beyond the heat she’s received for her haircut, Ocasio-Cortez has faced similar criticism in the past for a perception of overspending on her appearance. Last November, a reporter tweeted, and eventually deleted, a photo of Ocasio-Cortez from behind, writing, “I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles.” She also took heat for wearing a $3,000 outfit in a photoshoot, which she didn’t actually purchase, for Interview Magazine.
The self-proclaimed democratic socialist fired back on Twitter, writing “You don’t get to keep the clothes, duh. Get used to me slaying lewks because I am an excellent thrift shopper.”
The Washington Times article caused a stir online, with many claiming sexism: Would the same story be written about a man?
1) this would obvs never be a story about a man
2) this is not an expensive haircut/color for a public figure who is frequently on TV
3) if her hair was raggedy, that would be the lead story instead
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) October 10, 2019
A Washington Post article aptly headlined: “The backlash over Ocasio-Cortez’s haircut shows women can’t win when it comes to their appearance, experts say,” said that women in the public eye are faced with a Catch 22: “Either be criticized for spending exorbitant amounts of money to meet society’s manufactured beauty standards or be lambasted for failing to fulfill those requirements.”
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