A transgender author and actress has alleged in a viral post that staunch anti-LGBTQ+ lawmaker Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) had hired the writer for sex work, The Advocate reported on Monday.
Jesse James Rose, author of "Sorry I Keep Crying During Sex," wrote a three-slide post on Instagram detailing the accusations against Graham, who spent much of his long political career pushing back against civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community, transgender rights and gender-affirming care for people transitioning, according to The Advocate.
Graham, who died Saturday night, also opposed marriage equality, voted against workplace discrimination protections, and opposed the 2011 repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the policy that mandated service members conceal their sexual orientation or face discharge.
"Most of you know him as the homophobic Senator from South Carolina but to me he will always be the man who paid a twinky pre-transition college student a fat stack of cash to do unspeakable things to him in a hotel room while he wore red lingerie," the writer posted.
"It is a canon trans event to have far right freaks bankrolling you & then turning around and voting against you."
Rumors about Graham's own sexuality surfaced throughout his life, Advocate reported. In 2018, he denied he was gay, responding after comedian Chelsea Handler trolled him on National Coming Out Day.
"The bitter irony of this record is that Graham spent much of his political career denying rumors and speculation about his own sexual orientation — a task that became more difficult in the social media age," according to the outlet.
Other allegations about his personal life have emerged in recent years.
"However, while Rose’s recent post following Graham’s death is one of the most direct instances of a queer person alleging that Graham had hired them for sex work, it isn’t the first," The Advocate reported.
"In 2020, porn performer Sean Harding posted online, implying that an unnamed Republican senator had hired multiple gay sex workers, including him. People connected the story to Graham based on the nickname 'Lady G,' a codename sex workers in D.C. allegedly used to refer to the South Carolina legislator. The nickname followed Graham for what would turn out to be the final years of his life."