That awkward video of J.D. Vance being serenaded by an Orthodox Jew covering Whitney Houston explained

Super awkward video of an Orthodox Jewish singer performing a cover of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston’s 1998 collab “When You Believe” to Senator J.D. Vance has been making the rounds on social media, but there seems to be some confusion over WTF is actually going on in it.

So, let’s dive in…

Shortly after 78-year-old Donald Trump announced Vance, a former critic of the ex-president who once referred to him as “America’s Hitler,” will be his running mate in the 2024 presidential election at the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday, the clip began circulating online along with the caption: “This was the celebration performance at the RNC after JD Vance was announced as VP pick.”

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As it turns out, the caption wasn’t true.

Reuters reports the footage was actually recorded back in February 2024, at an event in New York hosted by the Tzedek Association, a Jewish organization. The singer is Shulem Lemmer, a classically trained tenor who, according to his Wikipedia page, is “the first born-and-raised Hasidic Jew to sign with a major record label, having signed with Universal Music Group under its classical music Decca Gold imprint.”

Per Reuters:

The clip shared on social media matches the visuals of a video, (timestamp 03:43 – 05:53) uploaded to YouTube in March 2024 by a Jewish entertainment site.

The channel said in an email that the video shows a Feb. 25, 2024, event held in honor of Rabbi Moshe Margaretten of the Tzedek Association, a Jewish organization that focuses on criminal justice issues.

The event was attended by “over 1,000 attendees and bipartisan attendance of members of Congress.” The singer Shulem a week later posted photos of him with lawmakers including Vance and Democratic Senator Cory Booker at the event.

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A post shared by Shulem (@iamshulem)

Of course, that doesn’t make the whole thing any less weird. And we’re sure Whitney is probably turning over in her grave right now over the butchering of her 1998 hit. Still, facts matter. So we’re glad Reuters has taken the time to get to the bottom of this.

On the subjects of facts, let’s briefly talk a little more about Vance and his stance on LGBTQ+ issues.

Not only does the 39-year-old oppose marriage equality and gender-affirming care for trans youth, he’s also referred to gender identity as a “harmful ideology” and has proposed legislation to prohibit the use of nonbinary gender markers on passports.

He has also criticized the use of queer-inclusive language, thinks it should be legal to fire someone just for being gay, and tried to get LGBTQ+ people people scrubbed from the U.S. census.

In his 2016 autobiography Hillbilly Elegy, he talked openly about questioning his sexuality as a young person and being asked by his grandmother if wanted to “suck d*cks.”

“I’ll never forget the time I convinced myself that I was gay,” Vance wrote. “I was eight or nine, maybe younger, and I stumbled upon a broadcast by some fire-and-brimstone preacher. The man spoke about the evils of homosexuals, how they had infiltrated our society, and how they were all destined for hell absent some serious repenting.”

“At the time, the only thing I knew about gay men was that they preferred men to women. This described me perfectly: I disliked girls, and my best friend in the world was my buddy Bill. Oh no, I’m going to hell.”

When Vance told his grandmother about his fears, she replied, “Don’t be a f*cking idiot, how would you know that you’re gay?” And when he explained why he felt the way he did, she reportedly laughed and asked, “J.D., do you want to suck d*cks?”

Vance replied, “Of course not!”

“Then you’re not gay,” his grandmother assured him. “And even if you did want to suck d*cks, that would be okay. God would still love you.”

Vance married his wife, Usha Chilukuri, in 2014. The couple has three children together.

Need a palate cleanser after all that? Watch Whitney and Mariah’s video for “When You Believe” below.