New Jersey Politician Fakes All-Springsteen Spotify Wrapped

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New Jersey Politician Fakes All-Springsteen Spotify Wrapped

The latest scandal in New Jersey politics is a blip on the radar compared to the corruption of former US Senator Bob Menendez, but it’s a minor scandal nevertheless: Congressman Josh Gottheimer has been forced to admit he faked a social media post of an all-Bruce Springsteen Spotify Wrapped of his top songs.

Gottheimer posted the alleged screenshot on Friday (December 6th), appearing to show that his top five tracks were “Thunder Road,” “Because the Night,” “Glory Days,” “Badlands,” and “The Rising.”

Get Bruce Springsteen Tickets Here

“No surprises here,” the Democratic Representative wrote. “Fun fact: My first ever concert was at Meadowlands to see The Boss!”

Considering the website for his gubernatorial campaign says Gottheimer grew up  “catching a Springsteen show every chance he could get,” it all seemed believable enough. Plus, he came out to “Glory Days” while announcing his campaign for governor.

Had New Jersey Monitor editor Terrence T. McDonald not taken a closer look, nobody would’ve batted an eye. However, McDonald pointed out some visual discrepancies in the numbers, fonts, and spacing of the screenshot, as well as a low resolution potentially indicative of Photoshopping.

Following up on McDonald’s reporting, NJ.com reached out to Gottheimer for a statement. To his credit, the politician owned up to fabricating the image.

“This would be my Spotify Wrapped if I didn’t share my account with my 12 and 15-year-old kids,” he claimed. “While it’s Springsteen all day for me — don’t get me wrong, I still love listening to Taylor Swift!.”

In a follow-up social media post, Gottheimer added, “To paraphrase the Boss: I wasn’t here for business baby, I was only here for fun. So just relax. This was a fun holiday tweet. It’s a joke to question my Springsteen creds, just ask my dog named Rosalita!”

Gottheimer is considered a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in a race to succeed current NJ governor Phil Murphy. This article aside, the news cycle should move on soon enough, but time will tell if his deception will knock him off that perch.

As for The Boss, he will be touring the UK and Europe with The E Street Band next year from late May through early July. Tickets can be purchased here.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out our guide to this year’s Spotify Wrapped.

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