A tech startup seated a Nancy Pelosi impersonator in the front row of a UFC match in a publicity stunt to launch a new app that allows users to “invest like a politician.”
Christopher Josephs, the Los Angeles-based co-founder of Autopilot, said thousands of people downloaded his trading app over the weekend after his firm spent six figures to sponsor the recent UFC match in Las Vegas between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
Josephs hired an actress and dressed her up in a pink pant suit and sunglasses — making her a dead ringer for the former speaker of the House.
He also made sure that the “fake Pelosi” was visible in the front row.
As O’Malley was walking out of the locker room and into the ring for his bout, the camera caught the “fake Pelosi” standing a few feet from the ring and in full view of the audience.
According to Josephs, “the parody worked” as people took pictures and uploaded it to their social media accounts.
“Millions more now understand our message of getting politicians banned from trading,” he wrote on X.
“Although it definitely did get some middle fingers along the way,” he added.
The company also had a Tesla Cybertruck that was made into a moving billboard. It drove around Las Vegas with a “Pelosi 2024 – Invest like a Politician” banner — making it appear like a campaign ad.
Josephs and his team are also behind the infamous “Pelosi Tracker” social media account which monitors stock trades made by the San Francisco congresswoman and her husband, venture capitalist and real estate investor Paul Pelosi.
Pelosi is one of the country’s wealthiest lawmakers thanks to the power couple’s expansive investment portfolio.
The Pelosis have drawn scrutiny over the fact that her position as a top legislator gives her access to information that may influence market decisions.
Nancy Pelosi has resisted calls to ban legislators and their spouses from owning and trading in stocks
Earlier this month, a comedian trolled the real Pelosi at an event in Austin by dressing up in pro-Democrat garb and approaching the congresswoman to ask her for stock trading tips.
According to the Autopilot web site, users have made more than 9 million trades totaling over $300 million in investments.
There are currently more than 90,000 investors using the app, according to the company, which says the platform was “built by the team behind the viral Pelosi Tracker account.”
The “Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker” is an X account that boasts more than 750,000 followers. It lists the stock transactions executed by members of Congress.