NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) 鈥 Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced Monday that he is 鈥減ausing鈥 all social media activity after revelations that he repeatedly commented on posts of nearly nude photos of a young gay model and other LGBTQ personalities.
McNally, a Republican, initially stated last week that he 鈥渉ad no intention of stopping鈥 when pressed about why he repeatedly commented on racy social media posts by the 20-year-old. He later issued an apology, saying it was not his intention to embarrass his friends, family or members of the legislature.
However, the 79-year-old legislative leader has since received national attention 鈥 including being parodied on Saturday Night Live 鈥 with critics accusing McNally of being hypocritical. Particularly, McNally supported legislation restricting where certain drag shows can take place.
Some of the posts that have sparked the most uproar include commenting on a photo of the man's backside, where he was wearing only underwear, saying 鈥測ou can turn a rainy day into rainbow and sunshine.鈥 McNally then posted a comment using only heart and fire emojis. In a separate post, McNally posted a heart emoji of the man pulling down his underwear.
鈥淲hile I see now that I should have been more careful about how my comments and activity would be perceived, my intent was always engagement and encouragement,鈥 McNally said in a statement. 鈥淔or this reason, I will be pausing my social media activity in order to reflect and receive more guidance on the use of social media.鈥
McNally added while he may have made 鈥渟ome mistakes," he disagreed that he had a record of being 鈥渁nti-gay" and pointed to his opposition of a 2020 law that assured continued taxpayer funding of faith-based foster care and adoption agencies even if those organizations exclude LGBTQ families and others based on religious beliefs.
Yet McNally then pointed to his support of 鈥渢raditional marriage鈥 and support of bills that 鈥渒eep obscenity out of the public sphere.鈥
鈥淭here is no contradiction here,鈥 he said.
McNally, who is from Oak Ridge, became lieutenant governor in 2017. He has been a state lawmaker since the late 1970s.
