Bill Lee forced to defend dressing in drag in high school as he endorses drag show ban

As Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) endorsed a bill to make drag shows in public and semi-public spaces a felony on Monday, he was also forced to defend a high school photo of him in drag.

The Nashville Tennessean’s Josh Keefe reported Monday that Lee plans to sign House Bill 9 as soon as it reaches his desk. The bill bans any “adult cabaret performance on public property” and performances where any child can see it, with violators being issued a misdemeanor on the first offense and a felony on the second. Drag performers, listed as “male or female impersonators,” are listed among exotic dancers and strippers that “provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest.”

But early Sunday morning, Reddit user JoeyBagOWaffles posted a cropped image onto r/PoliticalHumor that appears to be high-school-aged Lee dressed in drag on at Franklin High School, where he graduated from in 1977. The photo, titled “Hard Luck Woman,” shows Lee in a short dress, a curly wig, a pearl necklace and women’s boots.

When the Tennessee Holler printed out the photo to show to Lee Monday during a press briefing and ask if it was him, a visibly angry Lee dismissed the photo as unrelated without saying if it was him in the photo.

WATCH: “Do you remember dressing in drag in 1977? Is it only illegal when gay people do it?” @GovBillLee didn’t appreciate that we printed out the FRANKLIN HIGH YEARBOOK PHOTO — but did not deny it’s him. Meanwhile he’s about to make drag a felony by signing an absurd law. pic.twitter.com/C7YQcQyis3

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 27, 2023

“What a ridiculous question that is,” Lee fumed. “Conflating something like that to sexualized entertainment in front of children, which is a very serious question.”

Jade Byers, a spokesperson for Lee, reaffirmed this in a statement published by the Tennessean, which again did not say if it was the governor in the photo or not.

“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,” Byers said.

This is not Lee’s first controversy relating to old yearbooks. As the governor was starting his first term in early 2019, his administration was rocked by revelations from a 1980 Auburn University yearbook that he attended an “Old South” party dressed as a Confederate soldier. That time, he admitted that it was him in the photo and apologized.

Lee is also not the first Republican facing claims of being a hypocrite involving dressing in drag this year. Freshman U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) eventually admitted last month that he performed in drag beauty pageants in Brazil 15 years ago. Santos is openly gay but also has endorsed anti-LGBTQ laws like Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill that outlaws discussion of gender and sexuality in schools.