In a move that sounds straight out of a late-night comedy sketch, Donald Trump has appointed Sean Duffy—best known for his towel-clad hotel striptease on MTV’s The Real World: Boston—as the interim head of NASA.
Before becoming a political figure, Duffy gained notoriety in the late ’90s as one of seven roommates on MTV’s drama-fueled reality series. His most infamous moment? A near-nude hotel room striptease, complete with an on-camera nipple lick, securing his place in reality TV history.
Fast forward to 2025, and the 53-year-old father of nine has landed at the helm of America’s premier space agency, TIME reports. Trump celebrated the announcement on Truth Social, praising Duffy’s “TREMENDOUS job” in modernizing the nation’s transportation systems, rebuilding infrastructure, and now boldly launching into space leadership—if only temporarily.
“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control system, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again,” Trump posted. “He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean.”
Duffy, who shares nine children with his wife and fellow MTV alum Rachel Campos-Duffy, responded with typical gusto: “Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch.”
While this appointment may raise eyebrows, Duffy’s political credentials run deep—from district attorney to Congressman, and most recently, Secretary of Transportation under Trump—proving that sometimes reality TV stars really do rocket into unexpected arenas.
Sean Duffy’s new gig at NASA arrives in the wake of Janet Petro’s exit and after President Trump decided to skip over his first pick, billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman. Trump unleashed a now-viral rant claiming Isaacman was “a blue-blooded Democrat” too cozy with Elon Musk — and insisted it would be “inappropriate” to put someone so entwined with Musk’s empire in charge of NASA.
Meanwhile, February saw Duffy’s infamous towel-clad striptease resurface online, sparking fresh debate — though it’s done little to stall his ascent. Montana McGlynn, a former Real World castmate, jumped to his defense in an interview with The Daily Mail: “We were in our early 20s, living a unique and wild experience. We were just having fun and figuring out what it meant to be young.”
She added, with a hint of prophetic insight, “He always said he’d hold public office.”
So here we are: the man once famous for late-night hotel shenanigans is now helming America’s space program. Whether Duffy’s tenure will be a soaring success or a spectacular crash remains anyone’s guess.