them.us · Delia Curtis , · September 8, 2026
Photo of Tennessee Gov. in Drag Surfaces As He Promises to Sign Anti-Drag Bill | Them
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Photo of Tennessee Gov. in Drag Surfaces As He Promises to Sign Anti-Drag Bill
The photo was in a 1977 yearbook.
By James Factora , February 28, 2023
In yet another instance of Republicans espousing a “drag for me but not for thee” attitude, Tennessee governor Bill Lee is anticipated to sign the nation’s first ban on public performances by “male or female impersonators” even though photos that purport to show Lee dressed as a woman have emerged on social media.
Over the weekend, a Reddit user shared a photo of a high-school student dressed in a cheerleader’s uniform, a pearl necklace, and a wig in a 1977 yearbook. “I believe this is Tennessee governor Bill Lee in drag,” the post title reads. The photo is captioned “Hard Luck Woman,” seemingly a reference to the KISS song (one of the gayest ’70s rock bands) of the same name.
At a Monday press conference, Lee confirmed that he would sign the drag bill in addition to the state’s ban on transition-related healthcare for minors. In a video posted to Twitter by the Tennessee Holler, a reporter asked, “Do you remember dressing in drag in 1977?” and appeared to show him a copy of the image.
“What a ridiculous, ridiculous question that is,” Lee responded. “Conflating something like that to sexualized entertainment in front of children, which is a very serious subject.”
Notably, the governor did not respond when reporters repeatedly asked him to confirm whether or not the photo was him. They also asked Lee if he could name any specific instances that the anti-drag bill was intended to stop, to which he responded, “Children, that are potentially exposed to sexualized entertainment, to obscenity, and we need to make sure that they’re not, and I think that’s something that should happen in Tennessee, and it will because of this bill.” (The Holler pointed out, however, that Tennessee already has obscenity laws.)
As Lee walked away, the person filming asked, “Is it okay if drag queens come to the school? Because this is you at a high school. Is it only illegal when gay people do it, governor? Have you talked to your sister about the bill?” (The Holler has previously reported that Lee’s sister is married to a woman.)
Senate Bill 3, when signed, will ban “adult cabaret performances,” including “male or female impersonators,” from taking place in public or in any location where they could be witnessed by a minor. House Bill 9, meanwhile, would criminalize the provision of transition-related healthcare to minors. While Tennessee previously passed an anti-trans healthcare bill, it had almost no practical effect, since it banned hormonal care for prepubertal minors, which goes against best practices for trans medicine.
While Tennessee’s anti-drag bill would be the first in the nation to be signed into law, at least 31 drag bans have been introduced in state legislatures nationwide thus far this year, according to legislative tracking conducted by LGBTQ+ activists Allison Chapman, Alejandra Caraballo and Erin Reed.
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