Bill Berrien, a Whitefish Bay businessman and Republican candidate for governor, has campaigned as a conservative champion of family values, vowing to protect girls’ sports from what he calls “radical social experimentation” by transgender individuals. But his online history tells a more complicated story.
On Medium.com, an older blogging platform, Berrien’s account was following a transgender porn star, several sex writers, and blogs devoted to polyamory and sexual exploration. The accounts included explicit content such as “7 Types of Orgasmic Sensations” and “Pegging is A-OK.”
After the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked his campaign about the activity on Sept. 15, nearly half of those accounts — including most of the sexually explicit ones — disappeared from Berrien’s follow list by the next day. Even after the purge, his account continued to follow “Sexography,” a sex-focused blog, along with authors posting sexually provocative content.
A campaign spokeswoman dismissed suggestions of hypocrisy. “It is absurd to suggest that Bill would know about a particular author’s personal choices or by reading one article by an author would agree with everything else they wrote,” she said, adding that reading about sex “is in no way out of line with conservative Catholic values.”
But Berrien’s quiet attempt to clean up his account has drawn scrutiny. The Wayback Machine, which archives websites, confirmed that he was still active on Medium earlier this year. His campaign acknowledged Berrien himself removed the accounts after being contacted by reporters. (RELATED: Prolific Fentanyl Dealer Could Walk Free Due to Delays in Legal System)
Democrats have not formally commented, but one veteran strategist called the episode a case of “clear hypocrisy.” “You can’t have it both ways,” the strategist said. “If you want to restrict other people’s freedoms but expect to do whatever you want, that’s exactly the kind of hypocrisy voters reject.”
Berrien is the CEO of Pindel Global Precision and a first-time candidate. He, so far, faces Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann in the 2026 GOP primary for governor. (RELATED: Calls Grow for Wausau Alderperson Lou Larson to Resign After Offensive Remarks on Charlie Kirk’s Killing)