Cawthorne argued that he was "playing with another man" when he "pinned him down," but that argument apparently did nothing to reverse the collapse of his persona, as a Twitter account with many followers who opposed Cawthorne mocked: "Is that how you justify your actions, is that how you admit to sexually assaulting someone in order to argue that you're not gay?
In addition to public criticism and backlash from supporters, U.S. Republican leader in the House of Representatives Mackenzie also spoke out to rebuke Cawthorne, saying that Cawthorne had lost his trust and that he needed to earn back his trust and everyone else's with his actions.