On February 22, 2023, an Imgur account shared a screenshot of a tweet purportedly quoting Florida’s far-right governor Ron DeSantis, in which he mentioned Bowie David and Cobain Kurt as music stars who never dressed like women.
The most popular comments on the Imgur thread often highlighted that both Cobain and Bowie donned dresses, and they featured the following:
“Tell me you know nothing about David Bowie without telling me you know nothing about David Bowie.”
“Holy shit did he say that? That’s one of the first things I think of when someone says Bowie or Cobain.”
“Was ron under a rock in the 80s?”
The tweet that indicated a quick search was deleted, but several others tweeted the same thing. The tweet was published in January 2023, and the visible date indicated the tweet. No link was included with the tweet.
Ron De Santis : “I mean, look, you can laugh at my taste in music, but you can’t deny that men back then weren’t wearing dresses onstage. You’d never see Kurt Cobain or David Bowie dressing like women.”Who’s gonna tell him? pic.twitter.com/lqoJo7OIUz
— GOP is a FascistCult (@mermaidmazie) January 27, 2023
DeSantis on 1/27/23
“You’d never see Kurt Cobain or David Bowie dressing like women.”
Ummmm so yea they never dressed like women. GTHO! pic.twitter.com/r4QQkvzND3
— Queen of Typos (@KellieADennis74) January 28, 2023
Without a doubt, the most widely circulated rendition of the quotation was posted by author Charlotte Clymer on January 27, 2023.
DeSantis appeared briefly confused at muffled laughter from the gathered press.
“I mean, look, you can laugh at my taste in music, but you can’t deny that men back then weren’t wearing dresses onstage. You’d never see Kurt Cobain or David Bowie dressing like women.”
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) January 27, 2023
That version was slightly distinct, as it was a component of a longer conversation by Clymer. It commenced:
FL Governor Ron DeSantis shocked political observers this morning at a press conference where he announced a statewide ban on Pink Floyd, the English progressive rock group generally considered by popular music critics to be one of the most influential bands of all-time. (thread)
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) January 27, 2023
Clymer’s initial tweet in the thread referenced a “statewide prohibition on Pink Floyd,” alluding to a recent rumor surrounding Pink Floyd’s rainbow prism avatar that stirred up controversy on various social media platforms. To conclude the thread, Clymer shared a tweet containing a hyperlink to a blog post on her Substack account.
Original piece can be found here, and please do subscribe: https://t.co/VRzTIgUa9i
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) January 27, 2023
The title of the press conference, which was reported on January 27th, clearly indicated that it was a satirical announcement by Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida regarding a ban on Pink Floyd.
When asked by one journalist to elaborate on his misgivings over the trajectory of the genre, DeSantis pointed to legendary rock acts and pointedly asked why today’s music is so sexually immoral.
“You know, when I was in high school and college, rockers were men’s men,” he said in response to reporters. “I’d pop in a Judas Priest CD on the way to class and feel amped. You remember Rob Halford? That guy was a beast. Women loved him.”
Reporters, exchanging confused glances, asked DeSantis if he had any other favorites … DeSantis appeared briefly confused at muffled laughter from the gathered press.
“I mean, look, you can laugh at my taste in music, but you can’t deny that men back then weren’t wearing dresses onstage. You’d never see Kurt Cobain or David Bowie dressing like women.”
At this point, the Governor’s press secretary attempted to intervene by rushing to the podium and claiming he was behind schedule.
“Wait, wait—”, DeSantis said, waving off his concerned staffer, “These people need to understand what real rock ‘n’ roll is. Uh, where was I?”
“Sir, you were saying Kurt Cobain never wore dresses,” a reporter called out.
If there was any doubt left, Clymer herself called it “satire”: 
“If you appreciate this nerdy parody,” her tweet stated, “please contribute to ACLU of Florida (@ACLUFL): aclufl.Org.”
On February 22, 2023, an Imgur account shared a screenshot of a deleted tweet that claimed Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said, “Women would never dress like David Bowie or Kurt Cobain.” This quote, published by Charlotte Clymer on Twitter and Substack, came from a satirical blog post she wrote, which spread outside the context of her satirical blog post on January 27, 2023, enabling readers to see it as a parody with no indication that it was out of context.