Former GOP Congresswoman Caught Stealing Food Photos from the Internet and Passing Them Off as Her Own
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Mayra Flores, who is running to reclaim her former Texas congressional seat, has described herself as “a proud Latina who knows how to cook” — now she’s enmeshed in a scandal dubbed “Grubgate”
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
Congressional candidate from Texas Mayra Flores participates in the news conference to announce the formation of the Hispanic Leadership Trust at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.A former Texas congresswoman has been accused of downloading other people’s food pictures and passing them off as her own on social media.
Mayra Flores was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2022 to 2023, making history as the first Mexican-born member of the House before being voted out after one term. In recent days, her name has been in headlines for non-political reasons: she’s reportedly been posting food photos that she didn’t take and pretending they’re her own.
Related: Republican Mayra Flores Flips House Seat in South Texas to Become First Mexican-Born Congresswoman
On Monday, X user Ben Anderson confronted Flores, 38, by sharing side-by-side screenshots showing how Flores' recent post about her "ranch life" in Texas used a photo that was seemingly lifted from a Guyanese Facebook page.
Flores’ post said, “The Ranch life with family is the best,” and included a photo of food being prepared over an open fire. The Facebook page Visit Guyana posted the same photo in March 2022, crediting someone named Gwen Phillips.
“Here’s @MayraFlores_TX trying to convince people that she’s living the high life and making dinner over an open fire at the ranch. Only problem is: this picture was stolen from a Guyanese facebook page,” Anderson said, calling out the former congresswoman. “Why would you lie, Mayra?”
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, is seen outside of the U.S. Capitol during the last votes of the week on Friday, December 2, 2022.Since Anderson broke open the scandal, multiple people and news outlets, including the Texas Tribune, have scoured Flores’ social media and found other instances of her taking credit for other people's food photos. Internet users quickly dubbed the controversy “Grubgate.”
Another example of a pilfered post was a photo originally posted in 2021 by Izabal Magazine, similarly about preparing food on a ranch. Flores shared it, writing, “As a proud Latina who knows how to cook, homemade Mexican food tastes better from a gas stove,” per MSNBC.
In August, Flores shared a post reflecting on “the Rancho life surrounded by my beautiful family,” and the photo she posted was traced back to a Facebook page called Comida De Rancho, who originally posted the photo in 2019, VICE News shared. That post has since been deleted.
PEOPLE reached out to Flores for comment.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Flores announced in December that she is running to reclaim her former seat in Texas' 34th Congressional District, which is now occupied by Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez.
In an Instagram post, she said that she's "running to help restore the American Dream for future generations to come 🇺🇸." She continued of her platform, "We must secure our borders, create American independence, strengthen our economy, protect our constitutional rights and hold big government accountable."
Flores' initial term was short-lived, as she was elected via a special election to succeed Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela after he resigned to become a lobbyist.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
