By Jo Yurcaba -
NBC News
Tennessee's lieutenant governor, who has recently passed multiple bills targeting LGBTQ people and the LGBTQ community, has frequently commented on shirtless photos of a young gay man on his verified Instagram account.
Republican Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, who is also president of the state Senate, has left supportive - and arguably flirtatious - comments and smileys under risqué photos posted on social media by Franklin McClure, a 20-year-old artist from Knoxville, who calls herself Franklyn Superstar on social media.
The local newspaper The Tennessee Holler first reported the news Wednesday night after receiving an anonymous tip.
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Responding to a photo of McClure dancing outside in her underwear, McNally, 79, wrote, "Love it," with heart emojis.
In another close-up photo of McClure's butt, where he is wearing only what appear to be boxer shorts, McNally wrote two comments: "Finn, you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!"
and another with hearts and fire smileys, to which McClure replied, "You're literally always so kind, King," with a heart smiley.
In another image, in which McClure's shorts are pulled down a bit, McNally commented: "Super look Finn."
Finn is McClure's nickname, according to his Facebook page.
Adam Kleinheider, McNally's director of communications, said that "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 innuendo than it does about Randy McNally."
“As anyone familiar with Tennessee politics knows, Lieutenant Governor McNally is a prolific social media commentator,” Kleinheider explained in an email to Noticias Telemundo's sister network NBC News.
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“She takes pains to see as many posts as she can and often posts uplifting things for many of her followers.
Do you always use the right smiley at the right time?
Maybe not.
But he enjoys interacting on social media with Tennessee constituents and citizens of all faiths, backgrounds and orientations.
He has no intention of stopping,” he added.
The social media activity of McNally, whose Instagram bio identifies him as a conservative, has drawn criticism from people and LGBTQ advocates who have accused him of hypocrisy, pointing out that his state has recently led the way in approving bills directed against this community.
A reporter for the Tennessee Lookout asked McNally about the allegations of hypocrisy following a session of the Senate on Thursday, noting that he had previously sponsored legislation to ban same-sex marriage.
McNally said he supported that legislation before the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v.
Hodges in favor of same-sex marriage.
"I thought that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and I still feel that way," he said Thursday.
McNally added that he has friends and a family member who are gay and tries to be supportive of many people, the Lookout reported.
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So far this year, Tennessee lawmakers have introduced 26 bills targeting LGBTQ people, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which is monitoring them.
Last week, Gov. Bill Lee signed two of them into law: one criminalizing some drag performances and another banning certain transition-related medical care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery, for transgender minors. of the state.
Last month, Lee faced criticism similar to McNally's after a photo shared on Reddit and Twitter appeared to show the governor dressed as a cross-dresser.
Lee neither confirmed nor denied that the photo was of her, but said it was "ridiculous" to confuse the image with "sexualized entertainment in front of children, which is a very serious subject."
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McClure did not respond to a request for comment.
He told the Tennessee Holler that he had not previously made the connection between who McNally is and the state's legislation targeting LGBTQ people.
He said he thought it was random that McNally commented on photos of him, but he never took it seriously.
“I just thought I was older and out of the loop,” he told Holler.
“I have 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 lifted my spirits and made me feel good," he added.
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McClure said the two have been texting for years, though Holler did not say whether he disclosed any details about those messages.
He stressed in the interview that he does not have a negative opinion of McNally, although McClure does oppose the state's efforts to restrict dragging and foster care.
McNally's record on state legislation targeting LGBTQ people has been mixed.
She voted for the drag bill, and did not vote on restricting gender-affirming care.
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In 2020, McNally did not support a bill allowing religious adoption agencies to refuse to place children with couples if doing so would “violate the agency's written or political religious or moral convictions.”
The bill, which advocates said would allow agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples, still passed and Lee signed it into law.
In February 2021, according to the Tennesseean, McNally said that although she believed that allowing transgender girls to play on girls' and women's sports teams at school would hurt women's sports, state legislators should "move cautiously."
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“Whatever we do, it will probably be reviewed by the federal government and they can cut off funding to the state.
It is an issue in which I think we must move very carefully ”, according to the Tennessean.
In 2019, when the state considered 10 LGBTQ-targeted bills, McNally said the Senate would be "sensitive to the effect that some of them could have on businesses and events that could happen in Tennessee" and also "sensitive to people's rights,” according to local radio station WPLN.