Three men say U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (D-SC) paid them for sex, and one of them was 17 years old at the time; the story unfolds in "The CLOSETocracy," a documentary by The Young Turks

(Mississippi Television, Facebook)

Three men claim that the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) paid them for sex, according to a report at The Advocate magazine, which focuses on news, politics, opinion, and arts/entertainment of interest to the lesbian, gay men, bisexual, transexual, queer (LGBTQ) community. One of the men claims he was 17 years old when Graham paid him for sex. Under the headline "Lindsey Graham opposed LGBTQ+ rights. Three men say he paid them for sex; one participant said he was 17 during an alleged encounter, Christopher Wiggins writes:

Three sex workers allege in a documentary released Thursday that the late Sen. Lindsey Graham paid them for sex, including one who says he was 17 and that Graham questioned his age before continuing the encounter.

Among the participants is Cory Burns, an adult film performer known professionally as Sean Harding. His 2020 social media posts helped propel the “Lady G” allegations into public view, drawing attention to claims that Graham hired male escorts while opposing LGBTQ+ rights.

The CLOSETocracy, released by The Young Turks and Swamp Watch Studios, presents the accounts alongside Graham’s legislative record. Participants accuse him of privately seeking sexual encounters with people whose rights he opposed in public office.

Young Turks host Cenk Uygur wrote online this week:

The documentary we’re releasing tomorrow on our YouTube channel, The Closetocracy, is about a gay, closeted US Senator. The issue isn’t someone’s sexuality, but there is a serious national security issue. One of the incidents was highly illegal - and on tape!

Independent journalist Roger Sollenberger addressed the documentary on X and wrote "just got a sneak peak at this thing. I gotta say pretty compelling stuff here." The 29-minute CLOSETocracy documentary can be viewed at The Young Turks YouTube page. A direct link to the film is available by clicking here.

Charlotte Hazard, of The National News Desk (TNND), writes:

The documentary,titled “The CLOSETocracy,” interviews three different men who claim they had sex with Graham.

Graham died in July following an aortic dissection at the age of 71.

He served as a U.S. South Carolina senator for more than 30 years. After his death, his sister, Darline Graham, was appointed to his seat -- backed by President Donald Trump.

During one part of the documentary, a reporter follows Darline and asks about rumors regarding her late brother and gay escorts.

“I’m not even gonna entertain that question,” she said in response.

As for The Advocate, Wiggins writes that the magazine has not independently verified the documentary’s allegations. It contacted Sen. Darline Graham’s office for comment and also reached out to Burns. It has not yet received responses. Lindsey Graham, who died July 11 at 71, publicly denied being gay during his lifetime. 

One conservative media figure seemed unperturbed by the film's release. Andrew Kolvet said, "This is why we called him Lady Graham. This isn’t an October surprise, we’ve known this for years. And blaming his sister for the fact Lindsey was a poorly closeted gay man, is only going to backfire."

A liberal commentator saw it as a serious issue. Kareem Rifai is a political consultant, commentator, and Fulbright-award winning researcher who also leads campaign strategy at a political technology startup. He says: "Lindsey Graham was routinely hiring male sex workers -- including a minor whose story is detailed here for the first time -- while handling extremely sensitive national-security material.

"Meanwhile, Graham's sister, Darline, runs on his name while campaigning on anti-LGBT rhetoric."

Mississippi Television provides a solid overview of the film in a post at Facebook:

The documentary, titled "The Closetocracy," was released by The Young Turks on October 22 and features three men describing their alleged experiences with Graham.

One of the men claims Graham “wanted to be a little submissive to me and explore his kinky side.”

Another man, identified as Kelvin, claims he was just 17 years old during an alleged encounter in 2001 and was paid approximately $120. He also alleges that Graham wanted him to say he was 18.

A third man, identified as Cory, claims he received $1,500 for an alleged encounter at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., in November 2015. 

The allegations have sparked controversy because Graham, who died in July 2026, spent much of his political career opposing LGBTQ+ rights legislation, including same-s*x marriage protections.

The documentary is now generating widespread discussion online, with people questioning Graham’s public political positions compared with the private conduct alleged by the men.

The allegations have not been independently verified, and there is no publicly established evidence confirming that the encounters occurred.