Tennessee lieutenant governor Randy McNally, who has recently signed multiple anti-LGBTQ+ bills, has frequently been leaving comments on shirtless photos of a young gay man on Instagram.
As reported by NBC News, the lieutenant governor has been found to be using his verified Instagram account to leave multiple supportive comments on photos from 20-year-old Knoxville performer Franklin McClure, who used the name Franklyn Superstar on social media. The comments were first spotted by The Tennessee Holler following an anonymous tip, which noted the 79-year-old lawmaker had liked and left numerous comments on McClure’s racy posts.
“Love it,” he wrote on a photo that showed McClure dancing in his underwear. “Finn, you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!” he wrote on another post, which featured a close-up photo of McClure’s behind. “You are literally always so nice king,” McClure wrote in response to one of these comments.
In response to the discovery of the comments, McNally’s communications director Adam Kleinheider said “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.” Kleinheider described McNally as “a prolific social media commenter,” who “enjoys interacting with constituents and Tennesseans of all religions, backgrounds and orientations on social media.”
The Republican lieutenant governor has previously backed legislation to ban same-sex marriage, and in comments as recently as Thursday he said he still feels “marriage should be between a man and a woman.” McNally’s comments come as Tennessee lawmakers have fast-tracked anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the state, including a ban on drag performances, and various bans on gender transition medical care including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
In comments provided to The Tennessee Holler, McClure said that he's messaged with the governor for years but did not disclose what they spoke about. “I just thought he was older and out of touch,” he said. “I’ve always taken it as a compliment. I don’t dislike him or think he’s a bad person, he’s one of the only people who has consistently uplifted me and made me feel good.”
McNally sat down for an interview with WTVF on Thursday to discuss his social media activity. "I'm really, really sorry if I've embarrassed my family, embarrassed my friends, embarrassed any of the members of the legislature with the posts," McNally said. "It was not my intent to [embarrass them] and not my intent to hurt them." He clarified that he’s never met McClure in person.
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