Porn Performer Says She Bonded With Weiner Over Planned Parenthood

There were no revelations at Ginger Lee’s press conference with Gloria Allred today about her communications with Anthony Weiner — only existential angst. For both the people there and the people watching at home.

When it became clear that nothing would be said that hadn’t been in TMZ — namely, that he offered PR help to Lee and asked her to downplay their relationship — a reporter asked what they were doing there.

Allred replied, “I can’t speak to why you’re here. You have to answer that,” and continued, “The two of us are here because it’s time for her to break her silence. And that is what she has chosen to do. Because she needs to come out of hiding. She needs to be able to go back to work and pay her bills, and she knows that unless she makes a statement to the press she’s not going to be able to go on with her life.”

A press conference with a media-savvy lawyer just as the scandal has started to die down? Textbook “going on with your life.”

Lee said she had begun corresponding with Weiner because she admired his advocacy on behalf of Planned Parenthood. (That’s just the kind of advocacy the organization needs.) Then she announced, “I think that Anthony Weiner should resign because he lied to the press and the public for more than a week.”

A highlight was when Allred volunteered to read Weiner’s sexually suggestive emails: “I can tell you one point he made in the email about his package,” she said solemnly. (Why let Jane Lynch have all the fun?) These included, “I have wardrobe demands too. I need to highlight my package,” and “All right, my package and I are not going to beg. We both see the hazard of going down the path of comparative sexiness,” and “You aren’t giving my package due credit.” We give Weiner due credit for being slightly more articulate in these tweets, versus the run of the mill hot-this, hot-that ones we’ve seen.

Lee said she had never “sexted” with Weiner and that she declined to reciprocate his sexual innuendo. Allred said she was contacted by Lee after an unnamed person “threatened” to issue a statement in Lee’s name without her support. A reporter asked, “Was she encouraging him by saying she wanted to have sexual relations?” The answer was no.