Ritchie Torres jokes D.C. straight men make a strong case for being gay
Rep. Ritchie Torres riffed with TMZ DC after its hosts roasted the capital’s straight dating scene as stiff and low-energy.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
Rep. Ritchie Torres turned a D.C. dating roast into a Capitol Hill punchline after TMZ DC hosts took aim at the city’s straight men.
In a video published by TMZ DC, Torres was asked about comments from the outlet’s Jacob Wasserman and Charlie Cotton, who had criticized the capital’s straight dating pool on their show. The pair described straight men in D.C. as overly buttoned-up and low on charm, while giving gay men in the city a much warmer review.
Torres, who is openly gay, played along when TMZ DC caught up with him on Wednesday. According to the outlet, he jokingly accused Wasserman and Cotton of slandering straight men across the city.
The exchange kept rolling when Cotton stood by the critique and said D.C.’s straight men were not great. Torres answered with a quick line: “That’s why I’m gay.”
How the dating roast started
The back-and-forth began after Wasserman and Cotton discussed dating in Washington, D.C., on TMZ DC. In that segment, the hosts said the city’s straight men gave off what they called “ChatGPT, LinkedIn vibes,” and suggested they lacked energy both socially and on the dance floor.
Their comments were framed as a broad joke about the capital’s dating scene, with gay men coming out of the bit looking far better than their straight counterparts, according to TMZ DC.
That setup was apparently enough to get a reaction on Capitol Hill. TMZ DC said the dating rant had “ruffled some feathers” before the outlet put the topic to Torres.
Torres leans into the joke
Torres did not push back in any serious way in the TMZ DC clip. Instead, he joined the gag, first calling out the hosts for taking a swipe at straight men and then using Cotton’s follow-up as the runway for his own joke.
TMZ DC said Torres also remarked that he had “chosen wisely,” keeping the tone light throughout the sidewalk exchange.
The brief clip sits at the meeting point of politics, internet dating chatter and D.C.’s well-worn reputation as a city full of polished professionals. No policy fight, no floor speech, no committee drama: just a congressman getting asked whether the capital’s straight dating scene is as dry as advertised.
Torres’ office has not issued any separate statement on the exchange, according to the information reported by TMZ DC.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.