Rick Scott Consultant Denies He Used Ice Penis To Hump Mannequin

Former Governor Rick Scott’s consultant, Joshua Cooper,^[1] was drawn into a controversy when someone clicked a photograph from an unfortunate angle. It appeared that the Tallahassee political consultant was using an ice penis to hump a mannequin’s groin.^[2] The photographer, one of Josh Cooper’s teammates, found it funny and posted it on Twitter. It then appeared in a story in the Miami New Times on November 28, 2017, Rick Scott Consultant Denies He Used Ice Penis to Hump Mannequin.^[3][4]

When the controversy surfaced, Josh Cooper, who was paid over $500,000 by former Florida Governor Rick Scott to dig up dirt on political opponents, stated to the Miami New Times that, “It is not at all what it looks like.”^[5]

Incident[edit]

The incident was reported by Jerry Ianelli of the Miami New Times in the Flotsam section on November 28, 2017. In addition to being Rick Scott’s Consultant, Cooper, is a semi-professional barbecue chef on the side with his team, The Swinos. J. Cooper claimed he was throwing away a large piece of ice while cooking at a Memphis barbecue competition.^[6][7]

The photo became a center of controversy in Tallahassee and was a source of embarrassment for former Governor Rick Scott’s consultant, J. Cooper.^[8]

Josh Cooper’s Responses to the Miami New Times[edit]

"That was a photo one of my barbecue teammates took. That was our ice luge. It melted, so I was picking it up and throwing it over the fence there. But from the angle he took the picture, my teammates thought it looked funny and posted it online."

"You can write your story and try to get a couple of clicks. It is what it is, but it's just stupid. It's a nonstory. Given what’s happening with so many elected officials in the capital with so many real scandals going on, it seems like someone is trying to do a little misdirection and throw some heat onto a political consultant who has no skin in the game."^[9]

"No, I was just picking up a piece of ice."

Cooper Was A Top Campaign Consultant For Rick Scott[edit]

According to public Florida state records, Republican groups and PACS paid Cooper and his firms, Strategic Information Consultants, more than $768,000 from 2012 to 2017. Josh Cooper was also affiliated with Next Generation Strategies and JTKE LLC. In 2011, the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times reported that former Governor Rick Scott paid Josh Cooper $25,000 to conduct background checks.^[10][11]

References[edit]