Human Rights Campaign Releases Full-Page Ad of Gov. Bill Lee in Drag After Anti-Drag Bill Becomes Law

LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign unveiled a full-page ad on Tuesday featuring a blown-up image of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in drag, just one week after Lee signed into law an anti-drag bill.

The ad, which appears in Tuesday's edition of The Tennessean, shows a photo of Lee reportedly taken in high school, in which he can be seen wearing a dress, a strand of pearls and a wig.

"This kid enjoyed drag. Guess what happened to him?" the ad reads. Another photo, showing a current headshot of Lee, appears in the inset, along with the caption: "He's our governor."

The ad implores those opposed to the bill to contact the organization for more information.

Last week, Lee signed into law a bill restricting "adult cabaret performances" — which it defines to include "topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers," and "male or female impersonators."

The law, which was signed Thursday, bans the performances on both public property as well as "in a location where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult."

Days ahead of the bill's passage, the photo of a younger Lee wearing a dress was surfaced by outlets including Nashville Public Radio. The authenticity of the photo has not been disputed by Lee's office, which has instead said it was simply evidence of "lighthearted school traditions."

"The bill specifically protects children from obscene, sexualized entertainment, and any attempt to conflate this serious issue with lighthearted school traditions is dishonest and disrespectful to Tennessee families," Lee's press secretary Jade Byers told various outlets.

But opponents of the bill recently signed into law by Lee say the photo is demonstrative of hypocrisy by he and other conservatives who have attempted to restrict drag shows around the country.

Tennessee drag performer Hella Skeleton told NPR: "For Bill Lee to say, 'You know, that was lighthearted when I did it,' that is absolutely absurd when a lot of drag is extremely lighthearted. Apparently when straight men dress up badly in drag, that's OK. But when gay and queer and trans people do it, that's not OK."

In a statement, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said Lee "isn't just focused on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation — he's obsessed with it. He's infatuated with it."

Robinson continued: "It's why Tennessee has enacted more anti-LGBTQ+ laws than any other state since 2015, and why Gov. Lee last week became the very first governor in the country to sign a drag ban into law. Hypocrisy and discrimination run rich in the Tennessee of Gov. Lee — who himself formerly enjoyed dressing in drag but who is now working feverishly to prove otherwise."

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Robinson added that the drag bill was just one the recent measures in Tennessee targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

Lee signed the drag bill on the same day he signed a bill banning gender-affirming health care for transgender youths in the state.

And on Monday, the Tennessee House passed another bill targeting drag, this one requiring drag performers to obtain a permit before performing.

"What's truly unforgivable is that Gov. Lee's agitated focus on the LGBTQ+ community has now shamelessly targeted transgender and non-binary youth, seeking to deny them access to age-appropriate, life-saving gender affirming care," Robinson said in the Human Rights Campaign's statement. "This is why we took out a full-page ad in The Tennessean and why we'll be rallying in Nashville on Thursday: Because it's time for Gov. Lee to hear loud and clear that Tennesseans are tired of the political theater, and that discrimination and hypocrisy have no place in Tennessee."

According to the organization, which plans to hold a rally on Thursday protesting the recent measures in Tennessee, the state has enacted 14 anti-LGBTQ+ laws since 2015. Among those are two bathroom bans and three laws preventing transgender students from playing sports consistent with their gender identity.