Last Thursday, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to criminalize public drag performances. Now a local paper has found that the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ lieutenant governor, Randy McNally, 79, has been regularly liking and commenting on a young gay man’s thirst traps.
The Instagram account in question belongs to Franklyn McClur, or Finn, as Lt Gov McNally apparently knows him. According to the Tennessee Holler, McNally has used his verified Instagram account to comment with heart and fire emojis on some of his most risqué photos. In one post, the lieutenant governor wrote, “Finn, you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine,” referencing a nickname that is listed nowhere on Franklyn’s page.
The outlet spoke to Franklyn in order to get the story from him. The 20-year-old said that he connected with McNally through mutual friends on Facebook and has never met him in person. Since around 2020, McNally has been communicating with him. In one comment, McNally wrote “Love this picture. But Finn you look sad. I hope everything is ok. If not talk to me.”
Franklyn said the two had exchanged some private messages, “but I am going to keep those private.” Because Franklyn does not follow politics, he was surprised to learn of the lieutenant governor’s anti-LGBTQ+ stances, including continuing to oppose same-sex marriage. At the time, he found their conversations meaningful.
“I’ve had a transformation since we started talking — I was more christian, now I’m more not christian,” he said. “We were friends back before I was more openly myself. Before I was posting things more mature… If he’s hitting on me it’s real out-of-touch hitting on me.”
Since the story broke, all comments from the lieutenant governor have been deleted. McNally’s communication director issued a statement responding to the story. Without denying the friendship or that McNally made the comments, he characterized McNally as a “great-grandfather” who doesn’t understand social media.
“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,” the statement read.
“As anyone in Tennessee politics knows, Lt. Governor McNally is a prolific social media commenter. He takes great pains to view every post he can and frequently posts encouraging things to many of his followers. 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. He has no intention of stopping.”
In other words, McNally plans to keep commenting on as many gay thirst traps as he wants. Meanwhile, in addition to criminalizing public drag shows, Tennessee Gov Bill Lee signed a law banning gender-affirming care for minors last Thursday. The state legislature is currently considering 26 additional anti-LGBTQ+ measures.
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