Corey DeAngelis Addresses Gay Porn Allegations, Project 2025 Ties

Conservative education activist Corey DeAngelis, a contributor to Project 2025, issued a statement on Tuesday following allegations that he performed in gay porn videos under the name Seth Rose almost a decade ago. The outing of DeAngelis, who was reportedly fired from the American Federation for Children, has highlighted internal conflicts within conservative and anti-public school movements.

Allegations and Initial Response

On Tuesday, October 2, Corey DeAngelis, a conservative education activist and Project 2025 contributor, addressed allegations that he may have acted in gay porn videos under the name Seth Rose approximately ten years ago. DeAngelis posted on X, stating, "Just like everyone else, I have made mistakes throughout my life, learned from those mistakes, used that as an opportunity to grow and tried to channel that experience into something positive. I was a victim of poor decisions and poor influences. I have turned that experience into the fuel that fires me to save young people from being put in the same position I was put in and to help parents protect their children. I will never stop fighting for what is right."

DeAngelis is listed as a contributor to Project 2025 in the "Mandate for Leadership" handbook, a 900-page document from the Heritage Foundation-led initiative. This handbook includes a call to criminalize the production and distribution of pornography. DeAngelis has also contributed to Heritage Foundation publications and has been championed by Kevin Roberts, the foundation head and leader of Project 2025.

The allegations first surfaced on September 20, when the far-right Texas news site Current Revolt published a gossip item in its “Many People Are Saying” column. The item stated that DeAngelis was "allegedly the star of several videos hosted on gay porn websites." It described a man resembling DeAngelis engaging in acts including masturbation and a "jerk-off race." This Current Revolt item, which included graphic photos, was subsequently picked up by the gay content and news blog Str8UpGayPorn. Str8UpGayPorn republished the allegation, adding a pro-LGBTQ+, anti-MAGA framing to its criticism of DeAngelis.

Str8UpGayPorn noted that "news of DeAngelis’ work as a gay porn star was surprisingly exposed by another psychotic right-wing group in Texas (you have to love MAGA infighting) called Current Revolt." The gossip item then gained wider traction through mainstream LGBTQ+ sources such as The Advocate and Them, leading to broader coverage.

By the end of the week following the initial reports, DeAngelis’ main employer, the American Federation for Children (AFC), placed him on leave pending an investigation and removed his name from its website. The AFC, founded by Betsy DeVos, advocates for private and charter schools and against teachers’ unions. DeAngelis was later reportedly fired from the AFC.

Internal Conservative Conflict

Research into DeAngelis' outing suggests that the campaign originated within conservative circles, specifically the anti-public school movement, rather than from left-of-center ideological opponents. This situation highlights an internal "civil" culture war within the right.

A survey of the situation was published on September 24 by The 74 Million, a conservative education news site for which DeAngelis had written extensively between 2018 and 2023 during his time as a fellow of the Hoover Institution. The 74 Million article explained that the gay porn allegations against DeAngelis, whom they called "a school choice gadfly," had "roots in MAGA-infighting and Texas groups that view vouchers as government encroachment."

According to Linda Jacobson, a writer for The 74 Million, the outing of DeAngelis originated from "extremely online right-wing Texas groups known to spread conspiracy theories," which also oppose Governor Greg Abbott's proposal for a system of school vouchers. Jacobson reported that Current Revolt’s gossip item was preceded in July by a thread on X by conservative podcaster Sarah Fields. Fields, who runs the Texas Freedom Coalition, opposed COVID lockdowns and views vouchers as a form of government overreach. In her thread, Fields stated, "Side note — Corey A. DeAngelis, the face of school choice, was a model that catered to the gay community," and included a black-and-white photo of what appeared to be a shirtless DeAngelis in a suggestive pose. Fields told Jacobson, "My post is what caused several people to start asking questions" about DeAngelis' past and credited Current Revolt for "digging into gay porn sites to find the film and other photos."

Conservative activist Mary Lowe, who founded Families Engaged for Effective Education, a Moms for Liberty splinter group, criticized Governor Abbott for inviting DeAngelis to testify before the Texas House education committee in 2022 on "parent empowerment," noting that DeAngelis was single with no children at the time. Lowe told Jacobson, "Our moms’ intuition was like ‘There is something missing to this story.’ ‘There is something not right here.’"

Libertarian Defense and Industry Commentary

DeAngelis also contributed to libertarian organizations such as the Cato Institute and the Reason Foundation. On Tuesday, following DeAngelis’ statement, Reason magazine published an article by Robby Soave, describing DeAngelis’ loss of engagements as "classic cancel culture." Soave, acknowledging that DeAngelis is a senior fellow at the Reason Foundation, confirmed DeAngelis' firing by the American Federation for Children.

Soave stated that DeAngelis "is being punished for a regretted incident from his distant past that has nothing to do with his current job." Soave added that "any institution that purports to oppose cancel culture, yet refuses to work with DeAngelis on this basis, is engaged in hypocrisy."

Mike Stabile, Director of Public Affairs for the Free Speech Coalition (FSC), told XBIZ that DeAngelis "seems to be the latest casualty in a war raging on the right between establishment Republicans and more conspiracy minded far-right groups." Stabile explained that the leak of DeAngelis' adult history from a far-right site "was strategic — it forced out one of the top voices advocating for school vouchers, which some on the far right see as a government surveillance scheme." Stabile concluded that the lesson is clear: "When you ally with groups who don't respect sexuality or privacy, you risk them eventually coming for you."

Key Facts

• Corey DeAngelis, a Project 2025 contributor, addressed allegations of performing in gay porn videos under the name Seth Rose.
• The allegations were first published by the far-right Texas news site Current Revolt on September 20.
• DeAngelis was reportedly fired from the American Federation for Children (AFC) after being placed on leave.
• The outing of DeAngelis appears to have originated from internal conflicts within conservative and anti-public school movements.
• Libertarian organizations, including Reason magazine, have defended DeAngelis, characterizing his situation as "cancel culture."
• The Heritage Foundation announced on Thursday, February 19, DeAngelis’ appointment as a research fellow within its Center for Education Policy.