An Iowa mayor is under fire from members of his community after apparently posing naked for a Christmas charity calendar.
The “Father Figures” calendar from Hot Air Brewing in Creston, Iowa, features several bar regulars posing in comical ways and flaunting their “dad bods.” The calendar’s November page features Creston’s mayor, Gabe Carroll, appearing to sit naked with a bowl of chicken across his lap, KCCI reported.
Despite Hot Air owner Katie Davidson intending for audiences to find the photo “hilarious,” it’s gotten nearly a dozen complaints and news tips over the mayor’s photo. Although it does look like Carroll is completely naked, Davidson reassured KCCI that he was wearing underwear.
“That’s just weird, and being the mayor, I would not even publicize that at all,” city worker Baily Niederman told the outlet.
Davidson purportedly created the calendar as a charitable cause, donating a quarter of the money raised to the Christmas Basket Fund, which distributes food to families, KKTV reported.
The brewery has reportedly sold 100 calendars with 500 more on order, raising over $3,000 for the charity, Davidson told the Daily Caller in an emailed statement. Carroll gave different figures, telling KKTV that “in the end, we’ve raised about $220 for the Christmas Basket Fund and have about 55 calendars left to sell.”
Aside from the bar patrons, the calendar highlighted local heroes like hospital workers and the Veterans Affairs coordinator. “The calendar is full of men from our community who wanted to support a great cause and have a little fun,” Davidson stated.
Creston’s nearly naked Mayor Gabe Carroll posed with a baked chicken.
— 6 News WOWT (@WOWT6News) December 9, 2022
Carroll seemingly understood the community’s reaction to the joke. “I can understand some people not getting the joke and feeling offended. That’s just part of life, I suppose,” he told KKTV. (RELATED:Florida Town Hit With Power Outage Thanks To An Iguana’s Tail)
Some people in the town defended the mayor’s photo shoot. “He’s trying to support a small-town business,” Creston local Tom Jackson said, according to WOWT.
Carroll did not immediately respond to the Caller’s request for comment.