A half-naked man was caught in the background of a politician's Zoom call during a Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting this week.
Matt Heinz was the only member of Pima County's Board of Supervisors not to show up in person at a Tuesday meeting, instead appearing via Zoom call.
Heinz Attended the Meeting from a Cruise Ship
Heinz joined the meeting remotely from a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The 9:00 am meeting was two hours in when Heinz's unidentified 24-year-old travel companion wandered in to the shot. The man is seen wearing black vest and a black Speedo.
The man begins to lift up his shirt, then freezes and looks at the computer, apparently not immediately realizing that Heinz was in a meeting. At this point, Heinz immediately switched off his camera. Watch the video below:
Heinz in 2008 became one of the first openly gay members of Arizona's House of Representatives. He went on to serve in the Obama administration before he became a Pima County supervisor in 2021.
While Heinz's fellow board members did not appear to comment on the unknown man's unexpected appearance, Twitter users offered theories for why the supervisor wasn't physically at the meeting.
"Too busy to show up at work because he was busy boinking?" wondered one commenter.
"Looks like he had a private meeting before the public one," commented another.
"I guess they found out why he couldn't attend in person," opined a third user. "Booty call takes precedent over Board Meetings of course."
Heinz Addresses Viral Moment, Says Young Man was a 'Travel Companion'
Heinz later explained that the man in the video is his "travel companion" and said that the pair are not an item nor is he a sex worker. He compared the moment to other viral moments in which Zoom calls are interrupted by children and pets.
After the clip went viral, Heinz addressed the awkward moment in an interview with The Advocate. The Democrat said that he was 'baffled' with how much attention the clip has generated. Heinz explained that he is on a 10-day Ritz Carlton cruise with a "travel companion, a friend."
Heinz said his friend, who is more than 20 years his junior, had been out on the balcony of their room and came back in to get a shirt when the moment was captured.
The good doctor did not identify the companion merely saying: "He's 24. He's clearly an adult, and we're good friends who travel well together."
"We are not dating. We are not boyfriends. We're not engaged. We're not married," he added. "Leave my friend alone. He was in a swimsuit. He accidentally walked into the frame for like not even three seconds, was not naked, is clearly an adult, and is not a sex worker — not that there's anything wrong with that."
