Cory Booker, a Vegan Stripper and the NYT All Figure Into Bizarre, Vaguely Political 'Expose

Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker is an avid social media user and has 1.4 million Twitter followers.

Boasting that rather large cadre of fans isn't a surprise when one is the popular head of a city and a U.S. Senate hopeful.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker (AP)

Nor is it a shock that one of his Twitter followers is a stripper. (Not even that she's a vegan. From Portland. Who works at Casa Diablo, the self-proclaimed first vegan strip club on the planet.)

No, the eye-opener in the latest strange tale surrounding Booker is that he exchanged a few private messages with the stripper (that appear fairly innocuous despite her admission of a "slight crush" on the single mayor). And after the messages came to light, the stripper called out The New York Times which soon interviewed her and duly updated its story.

It seems Lynsie Lee — whose Twitter profile photo features her "splayed topless across a yellow couch," the Times reported — became a Booker follower on Twitter in February.

Image source: Twitter via TheWrap

The pair became acquainted after they both appeared in a film about social media, "Follow Friday: The Film."

Casual banter developed between them over the next few months:

Image source: Twitter via BuzzFeed

Image source: Twitter via BuzzFeed

Image source: Twitter via BuzzFeed

Image source: Twitter via BuzzFeed

Then BuzzFeed unearthed private correspondence between Booker and Lee:

Image source: Twitter via BuzzFeed

After the story hit the Internet, including The New York Times, TheWrap reported that Lee wrote: “Nobody even asked me questions from NYT." That apparently got the attention of the newspaper of record, as Lee later added: “NYT contacted me. Should have a corrected piece soonish?” Which led to this Times piece.

In response to the hubbub, Booker posted this on Twitter to the editor of BuzzFeed, regarding their "expose":

Image source: Twitter

Kevin Griffis, a spokesman for Booker, declined to discuss how many private messages the mayor had exchanged with Lee.

“The mayor talks with people from all walks of life on Twitter,” he said in a statement. “The most shocking part of the story was learning that there is a vegan strip club in Portland.”

“We did nothing wrong but exchange an innocent flirt almost a year ago," Lee told one Twitter fan, TheWrap reported. "Media is inept."

A spokesman for Booker’s Republican opponent in the Senate race, Steve Lonegan, declined to comment to the Times.

In response to her newfound digital attention, Lee wrote, “I guess I’m famous now. Do I get to be on @piersmorgan’s show?” as well as, “All of this just makes me wanna cuddle @CoryBooker.”

Here's a report from Newsy about the Booker-Lee connection and what others are saying about it:

Editor's note: TheBlaze did not link to BuzzFeed's original post because it contains nudity.

(H/T: The Wrap)

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