Rapper 50 Cent called out a Democratic Rhode Island state senator for posting a TikTok video of herself twerking in a bikini on the beach, a clip she says shows how millennial leadership looks different to the less inclusive leadership of the past.

Freshman Sen. Tiara Mack shared an 8-second clip of herself twerking upside down while doing a headstand in the sand over Fourth of July weekend. 

“How many hours did she spend practicing that on her head?” remarked 50 Cent, who captioned a photo of President Biden on the phone in his office with a portrait of Mack twerking above him. 

Mack was widely criticized for her post, with Tucker Carlson commenting that she is a “woman with demonstrated talent” during an episode of his show. 

“We saw Tiara Mack, head in the sand, twerking, and we thought, ‘Man, that’s the Democratic Party 2020,’” Carlson joked. “And you gotta wonder, since she just summarized everything the Democratic Party is for, why isn’t her own party embracing her? Why is she still a state senator in Rhode Island? Why isn’t she secretary of state? Why aren’t they pushing her for president?”

Mack, 28, has no qualms about her video, or the negative attention it garnered.  “It’s been so exciting and fascinating to dive into these conversations with people and to really challenge their thinking,” she told news station WPRI. 

“I’ve struggled with the idea that in order to be respected, I have to be fully clothed and buttoned up and I have to be performing in a way that is inauthentic to myself,” Mack defended. 

The Rhode Island senator was briefly suspended by TikTok for the viral post, which amassed more than 220,000 views, but her account was restored last week by the platform.  

“My behavior on my Twitter, Instagram and TikTok are consistent with a young millennial who is in office and challenging norms,” Mack told the Associated Press. “I’m showing that leadership looks different and welcoming people into the many different facets of my life.”

“My community stands in overwhelming support of me,” she concluded. “They know exactly what these attacks are and what these attacks can do, especially for a queer person of color.”

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