Tenn. governor vows to sign anti-drag bill as photo surfaces

Republican Gov. Bill Lee says it would be “ridiculous” to conflate a recently surfaced yearbook photo of him wearing women’s clothing in high school to drag show performances currently under attack in Tennessee and other GOP-led states.

Lee told reporters this week that he plans to sign legislation that would severely limit where drag performances can take place by banning “adult cabaret entertainment” that is “harmful to minors” from public property or locations where children might see the performance.

The bill does not explicitly include the words “drag show,” but it does expand the definition of adult cabaret to include “male or female impersonators,” as well as topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers and strippers.

On Monday, Lee was fielding questions from reporters about the legislation and other anti-LGBTQ bills when an activist asked him if he remembered “dressing up in drag in 1977.”