The US state of Tennessee has led the charge on introducing legislation that prevents transgender youth from accessing health care and recently also passed a bill that makes performing drag outside of adult entertainment venues a felony offence.
You can image how surprised local outlet The Holler was when they discovered the state’s Lieutenant-Governor Randy McNally was leaving regular comments on the Instagram account of a young gay performer.
Performer Franklyn McClur regularly posts pictures to his Instagram account, and they’d fall into the category of ‘thirst traps’, images designed to provoke a sexual response from viewers. On Instagram Franklin goes by the name Franklyn Superstar.
It turns out the conservative politician is a big fan of Franklyn’s photos, and regularly leaves comments and emojis in response to the pictures of the young man in his barely-there underwear. The Lieutenant-Governor uses his official verified account to make the comments.
Love heart and fire emojis often make up the politician’s comments, but he also tells the young man how much he loves his pictures.
The 20-year-old performer told The Holler that he’d met McNally through mutual friends a few years ago when he lived in the Knoxville area that McNally represents. The young man said he always appreciated the politician’s positive comments but was unaware he was also behind a raft of anti-LGBTIQA+ legislation.
The Lieutenant’s Governor’s Communication Director has responded to questions about the interactions saying there is nothing inappropriate in the comments and McNally is dedicated to connecting with his constituents.
“Trying to imply something sinister or inappropriate about a great-grandfather’s use of social media says more about the mind of the left-wing operative making the implication than it does about Randy McNally.” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“As anyone in Tennessee politics knows, Lt. Governor McNally is a prolific social media commenter,” the statement reads. “Does he always use the proper emoji at the proper time? Maybe not. But he enjoys interacting with constituents and Tennesseans of all religions, backgrounds and orientations on social media.”
It appears that McNally’s comments on the page have now been deleted.
OIP Staff
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