Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) told reporters he will sign a bill restricting where drag shows can be performed, calling efforts to conflate the legislation with a yearbook photo that appears to show him dressed as a female cheerleader "ridiculous." Lee did not confirm or deny Monday that he is the cross-dresser in the photo from his 1977 yearbook, first posted on Reddit over the weekend, but he said critics accusing him of hypocrisy are "conflating something like that to sexualized entertainment in front of children."
Lee's press secretary, Jade Cooper Byers, said in a statement that the bill restricting drag shows "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." The "school tradition" she mentions is "most likely a powderpuff football game, in which boys dress as girls and vice versa during homecoming week," NBC News reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lee declined to give any examples of specific incidents involving drag performances the bill would prevent, but the intended target is presumably events such as Drag Story Hours at public libraries and schools, where drag performers read books to children. Whether these events, intended to be family-friendly, are "prurient" or "sexualized" would presumably be up to the courts, as would cross-dessing at LGBTQ Pride parades, screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show — and powderpuff football games.
Once Lee signs the legislation, it will be the first to become law of at least 26 bills filed by Republicans nationwide this session seeking to impose restrictions or conditions on drag events, The Washington Post reports.
-
Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
-
Crossword: October 27, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Sudoku medium: October 27, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
9 haunted hotels where things definitely go bump in the nightThe Week Recommends Don’t fear these spirited spots. Embrace them.
-
Lavender marriage grows in generational appealIn the spotlight Millennials and Gen Z are embracing these unions to combat financial uncertainty and the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
