Less than 24 hours after The Tennessee Star asked TN-5 Congressional candidate Robby Starbuck to address questions about his voting record raised by documents obtained from Williamson County election officials, Starbuck posted a video taken from a scene out of the 2013 film, The Wolf of Wall Street, where the lead character defends himself against impending federal investigations before his employees.
In the version of the video posted by Starbuck on Saturday morning, Starbuck’s face was superimposed on the face of Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, using the audio from the movie The Wolf of Wall Street.
In 1999, Belfort pled guilty to fraud and other crimes in connection to stock market manipulation and a penny stock scam. He spent 22 months in prison as part of a plea agreement where he testified against partners and subordinates.
The Wolf of Wall Street also depicted numerous incidents of drug use and sex.
That video Starbuck posted contained a profane message, including several F-bombs.
You know what? I’m not leaving.
I’m not leaving…
I’m not F******G leaving!
The show goes on!
This is my home!
They’re gonna need a f*****g wrecking ball to take me out of here!
They’re gonna need to send in the national guard, a f*****g SWAT team because I ain’t going nowhere!”
Starbuck posted the video on Twitter and on Instagram Saturday morning. He captioned the video on Twitter:
To the Establishment,
No matter what you pull to try to keep me out of Congress — I’ll keep fighting for the people and we will WIN! The days of the establishment ruling over us are over. The voice of the people is loud & clear. Our message for you ⬇️. http://Starbuck2022.com
The Instagram caption said:
This is my message to the establishment who are trying to pull every trick in the book to make us quit. We won’t ever quit and we’re winning this.
Donate or volunteer at Starbuck2022.com (link in bio)
The video can be seen here.
The audio, with the profane language beeped out, can be heard here:
Starbuck did not address the questions raised by The Star to him on Friday regarding his qualifications to be on the August 2022 primary ballot and his voting history. The story, “Records Show Robby Starbuck Has Never Voted in a Tennessee GOP Primary, Making TN-5 Candidate Vulnerable to Ballot Challenge,” was published by The Star on Sunday.
The Star reached out to Starbuck about the video on Sunday, asking him to explain the role he and/or his campaign had in the creation and publishing of the video, if he stood by it, and if he thought that the profanity in the videos is something that will play well in a Middle Tennessee congressional district that has a high population of religious conservatives and a high church participation rate.
“My campaign didn’t fund the meme video. A supporter made it along with other funny memes. I posted it when it was sent to me because it’s a funny way to show the massive support that I’ve received over the past week from multiple lawyers who’ve worked for President Trump, Candace Owens, Rand Paul, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, many of the most well known Trump supporters in the country and most importantly, from the voters in District 5,” Starbuck responded in an emailed statement to The Star.
Starbuck indicated that he stands by the video.
“This meme is a response to the establishment and it speaks a language that the establishment understands. I’d also note that I released the meme on social media platforms where my audience is an adult audience perfectly capable of understanding a funny meme,” Starbuck stated.
Starbuck did not respond to The Star’s question about whether he thought that the profanity in these videos is something that will play well in a Middle Tennessee district that has a high population of religious conservatives and a high church participation rate.
Instead, he stated that “taking offense to memes, that’s something I thought was reserved for the pearl clutchers at CNN and MSNBC who attacked President Trump for reposting memes made by his supporters that the left wing media found offensive.”
Starbuck also claimed that by posing the question about how well the video will play in Middle Tennessee that “the Tennessee Star was now taking offense to memes.”
Prior to Starbuck’s response to The Star’s questions about the profanity-laced video he posted on Saturday morning, Starbuck conducted an unscientific 90 minute Twitter survey of his followers, which was open to everyone on Twitter regardless of district, state, region, or country. He claims the results show that practically no one “found the video offensive.”
As The Star reported, “The new boundaries of the Fifth Congressional District approved by the Tennessee General Assembly now include parts of Davidson, Williamson, and Wilson Counties, as well as all of Maury County, Marshall County, and Lewis County. Incumbent Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) announced last week that he will not seek re-election, and a number of high profile Republicans are considering entry into the race.”
The race for the GOP nomination heated up last week when former President Trump announced that he would endorse former Trump administration State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus in the Fifth Congressional District primary if she decides to run. Ortagus moved to Tennessee in early 2021. Sources tell The Star she registered to vote in Tennessee in November 2021.
A number of Tennessee Republicans are reportedly considering entering the TN-5 race, including former Tennessee State House Speaker Beth Harwell, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, former Tennessee National Guard Brigadier General Kurt Winstead, and Nashville businessman Baxter Lee.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Robby Starbuck” by Robby Starbuck.
