Michael Gates
Role at the time: Republican candidate for California attorney general
Response to this claim
Michael Gates said Steve Hilton's Just Try It video is an example of the inappropriate sexualization of young people and that its portrayal of young women is out of touch with the values of California families.
“I want to be clear: I do not condone Steve Hilton's "Just Try It" video. My campaign was not consulted, nor alerted to its release. I emphatically denounce the use of young women as a political tool. California families deserve better, and as AG, I will fight every day to protect our girls, young women, and parental rights. I guarantee it.”
Gates posted this statement at 2:14 p.m. Pacific on October 2, 2026, and attached his campaign's press release, titled "Gates Condemns Hilton Ad: Fighting for Families Means Respecting Women," with Lana Clay, campaign manager, as the contact. The quotation in the statement is the post's own text. The release is longer and calls the video's portrayal of young women sexualized.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is whether the Just Try It ad was an appropriate way to campaign. Gates says he does not condone the ad and denounces its use of young women, and his press release calls its portrayal of them sexualized. He also says his campaign was not consulted, which distances him from Hilton but is not the basis for the label. Condemned fits because he rejects the ad's content.