Donald Trump just named Sean Duffy as the interim head of NASA, and a lot of people are still trying to process it. Duffy, who was once known for doing a striptease in a towel on MTV’s Real World: Boston, is now in charge of the country’s space agency.
Back in the late ’90s, Duffy made headlines on reality TV with some questionable moments on camera. One of the most infamous was a hotel scene where he danced around nearly naked, and according to some reports, even got his nipple licked.
Now 53, Duffy has a very different public image. He’s a father of nine and has been working in politics for years, starting as a district attorney and then serving in Congress before joining Trump’s cabinet earlier this year as Secretary of Transportation.
Trump shared the NASA appointment on Truth Social and said: “Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again. He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean.”
Duffy posted his own reaction shortly after. He tweeted: “Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch.”
He’s stepping into the role after the departure of Janet Petro. Trump passed on his original pick, Jared Isaacman, and in a rant said Isaacman was “a blue-blooded Democrat” and too close to Elon Musk, which he felt made the choice “inappropriate.”
Even though Duffy’s old striptease video started circulating again earlier this year, it didn’t seem to hurt him. His former Real World housemate Montana McGlynn talked about it in an interview and said: “We were in our early 20s and going through a unique and exciting experience. We were all just looking to have fun and explore what it meant to be young.”
She also said: “He always said he’d hold public office.”
