Montana yoga pants ban was a joke, says congressman

Republican Rep. David Moore made waves last week for his comments regarding an indecent exposure bill when he said he would make yoga pants illegal.

Moore is now saying that although the indecent exposure bill had been serious, his comments about banning yoga pants had not. The bill was shot down, but not before Moore's comments to the Associated Press about the bill went viral.

The Associated Press reported that the bill was shot down after no discussion but giggles filled the room of the Montana House Judiciary Committee. Moore, who introduced the bill, reportedly told AP he would make yoga pants illegal, but now he's defending those comments.

Moore told the Guardian that the Associated Press had taken a joke seriously and that he had never intended to include yoga pants in his bill.

"The whole was a off-the-cuff remark (sic) in the hallway, and the whole thing just exploded," the paper reported. "At no time during the hearing of that bill was yoga pants brought up."

The Associated Press told the Guardian it is still convinced that Moore did not mean the comments as a joke, saying that the claim it was a joke only came after the story had been widely reported.

"She asked him about that statement twice," the AP media director said of the reporter. "After the story appeared, Mr Moore told associates he was making a joke. Our staffer did not report that the bill would go so far as to outlaw yoga pants. Or that he intended to, we stand by our coverage."