The Scarlet Letter shirt
After voting to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023, Rep. Nancy Mace appeared on television wearing a red 'A' shirt, saying she was being demonized. Late-night hosts mocked the choice: Seth Meyers covered it in 'A Closer Look,' and Stephen Colbert produced a doctored image completing the word while comparing her to 'less Hester Prynne, more Alvin Chipmunk.'
In the days following the October 3, 2023 vote to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in which Mace was one of eight Republicans who joined Democrats, Rep. Nancy Mace appeared on television wearing a red shirt emblazoned with the letter "A," telling viewers she was being demonized for her vote. According to HuffPost, the wardrobe choice drew widespread mockery from late-night television. Seth Meyers addressed it in his "A Closer Look" segment. Stephen Colbert, as reported by HuffPost, produced a doctored image completing the letter into a full word, and delivered the line: "less Hester Prynne, more Alvin Chipmunk." Mace has said the shirt was intentional and that she stood by her vote to oust McCarthy.
Seth Meyers, "A Closer Look":
Late Night with Seth Meyers, "A Closer Look" segment covering Rep. Nancy Mace's Scarlet Letter shirt, October 2023.
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