Documentary Alleges Lindsey Graham Paid Men for Sex

The Young Turks' film features three men's unverified accounts of alleged encounters with the senator, including one who says he was 17.

By John Riley on October 26, 2026 @JRileyMW

Young Turks - The Closetocracy - Kelvin, Jesse, and Cory - Photo: lindseyfiles.com: Screenshot — Young Turks – The Closetocracy – Kelvin, Jesse, and Cory – Photo: lindseyfiles.com: Screenshot

A documentary released by the progressive news outlet The Young Turks features three men who claim that the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) paid them for sex. One alleges that he was 17 at the time of the encounter.

The 30-minute video, The Closetocracy, is available on The Young Turks’ YouTube channel. It features the men talking to unseen interviewers about their sexuality, how they became escorts, and their alleged encounters with Graham.

One of the men, Cory, who hails from rural Alabama, says his father kicked him out of the house after he came out as gay, leading him to resort to survival sex as an escort. Cory claims a chauffeured car took him to the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., where he was paid to have sex with Graham and spent the night.

Cory said he did not realize who Graham was until months later, when he recognized the senator’s voice on television during the 2016 presidential primaries.

In June 2020, Cory — who has appeared in pornographic productions under the name Sean Harding — alleged on Twitter that “a homophobic Republican senator” with the initials “LG” frequented male escorts while voting against pro-LGBTQ legislation.

But perhaps the most shocking allegation in the documentary comes from a man identified as “Kelvin,” who claims that Graham paid him for sex when he was just 17 years old and surreptitiously recorded him during the encounter.

Metro Weekly has not independently verified the identities of the men making the allegations or their accounts.

A website promoting the video, called the Lindsey Graham Files, claims to provide travel receipts and other documents from the times of the men’s alleged encounters with Graham, according to The New York Times.

Graham, who died at age 71 of an aortic dissection in July, never married, leading some to speculate, both publicly and privately, about his sexual orientation. While Graham was aware of the rumors, he categorically denied that he was gay on multiple occasions.

However, that did not stop people on both sides of the political aisle from speculating about Graham’s sexuality, mocking him with the nickname “Lady G,” using his sexuality as a punchline, or claiming that his alleged gay identity constituted a national security risk or influenced his votes.

Some on the left frequently speculated that Graham was being blackmailed over his sexuality to ensure he remained loyal to Trump, while some on the right cited his alleged sexuality as the reason for votes with which they disagreed.

The documentary’s release after Graham’s death, leaving him unable to respond to its allegations, has drawn skepticism from some observers.

Others have questioned whether the timing of the short film’s release will generate a backlash against Democrats, particularly in South Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, where Graham’s sister, Darline — who was appointed to fill the remaining six months of his term — is seeking a full six-year term.

A spokesman for Darline Graham’s campaign declined to comment when approached by The New York Times.

Cenk Uygur, a co-founder of The Young Turks, promoted the video on social media as a “bombshell documentary” that would reveal the identity of a Republican senator who patronized male escorts. But the allegations drew relatively subdued reactions from many in Washington — particularly on the political right — who were familiar with the rumors about Graham’s sexuality.

It is unclear whether voters will care about Graham’s alleged “hypocrisy” in voting against pro-LGBTQ legislation, even if they believe the escorts’ accounts. Graham amassed a long record of opposing LGBTQ rights, voting against the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the policy that barred gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from serving openly in the Armed Forces. He also opposed expanding the definition of hate crimes to cover acts of anti-LGBTQ animus, and once threatened to filibuster the Equality Act, an LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination bill, until he physically “fell over.”