Overview

Lindsey Graham "Lady G" Rumor refers to a claim that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has hired male prostitutes in Washington D.C., who refer to him as "Lady G" (not to be confused with the Jamaican recording artist Lady G). The claim was made by an adult film actor in June of 2020 and also led to speculation that President Donald Trump knows about it and that is why Graham went from being one of Trump's most vocal Republican critics to one of his most vocal supporters. The story has yet to be verified.

A short Medium blog post by satirist Philip Huang in which he wrote as though he were a prostitute hired by Graham also drew widespread attention, particularly a detail that says Graham has several moles around his perineum and anus which he refers to as his "ladybugs."

Background

On June 4th, 2020, adult film actor Sean Harding^[1] tweeted, "There is a homophobic republican senator who is no better than Trump who keeps passing legislation that is damaging to the lgbt and minority communities. Every sex worker I know has been hired by this man. Wondering if enough of us spoke out if that could get him out of office?" and "I cannot do this alone. If you’d be willing to stand with me against LG please let me know." Lindsey Graham is the only senator with the initials L.G.

Developments

In the ensuing thread, several others corroborated Harding's story. User @DingoDawgUSMC^[2] tweeted, "Same! I can name at least 10 of my friends from Rent Men who banged him! Come forward! #SendLindseyHome" (shown below, left). User @sexlocke^[3] tweeted, "Lady G is a very open secret here in DC. There are a number of Republicans that are known by the party but as long as they vote and direct support and money the right way it is unnoticed. Have you ever been near a GOP convention and checked the hookup sites, apps?"

The allegations led to conflicted feelings among Graham's critics, who seemed torn between feeling outing a homosexual person is wrong but also wanting to remove Graham from office, as he's been one of Trump's most vocal supporters and has pushed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Twitter user @soloyochapin^[4] tweeted, "it's not ok to out a person who isn't ready to be outed but if we are talking about a person who HATES and HURTS the LGTB then it's different," gaining over 150 retweets and 2,400 likes (shown below, left).

Some also wondered if Trump knows about Graham hiring male prostitutes and is holding it over him as a kind of blackmail, which would explain Graham's seemingly sudden shift from being a Trump critic to a Trump supporter. Blogger Mark Maynard^[5] wrote, "I do find the claim interesting, as it might well explain how it was that this once respected American politician went from saying that Donald Trump should be kicked out of the Republican Party in 2016, to becoming one of Donald Trump’s most loyal bootlickers." User @HKrassenstein^[6] tweeted, "No one gives a crap if Lindsey Graham is gay. We do give a crap about is if he is so ashamed of being gay that he would sell his soul to Trump just so people don’t find out he’s gay. There’s no doubt in my mind that if this storie’s true, Trump has blackmailed him. #LadyGraham" (shown below, right).

"Ladybugs" Story

Shortly after the rumors began spreading, satirist Philip Huang published a Medium^[7] piece titled, "Lindsey Graham Hired Me As An Escort." In the story, Huang writes in first person and says that when he was hired as an escort for Graham, he discovered a series of moles on his perineum and anus, to which Graham said, "Hope you don't mind. Those just my little ladybugs." The story was shared widely on Twitter who did not know the piece was satire. User @TomDangora^[8] shared the story as if it were a potentially credible account of a sex worker's encounter with Graham, gaining over 800 retweets and 1,400 likes (shown below, left). Many expressed disgust at the "ladybugs" line. For example, user @catmancatman864^[9] tweeted "'Those just my little ladybugs' shall haunt me for the rest of my days," gaining over 40 retweets and 420 likes (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References