Taylor Snider, a trans woman and former sex worker, has come forward detailing an alleged 2015 encounter with the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
In an interview with Spencer Macnaughton for Uncloseted Media, Snider alleged that Graham responded to an online advertisement on Aeros while she was staying at the Washington Hilton in Dupont Circle. Snider said Graham contacted her using a Google Voice number, paid $400 in cash, and left after roughly 35 minutes to return to work. Snider noted that Graham explicitly discussed his sexual preferences via text message prior to their meeting, asking whether she was a top or bottom and indicating that he wanted to bottom.
“I topped Lindsey Graham down. And I’m sorry if that sounds vulgar, but like it just is what it is,” Snider said during the interview.
Snider explained that she did not initially recognize Graham. A week later, while at a bar traveling to New York, she saw his face on CNN during coverage of his 2016 presidential campaign announcement.
Threatening Calls and the 2020 Suppression
The alleged 2015 encounter was not Snider’s first attempt to share her story. In 2020, following public social media posts by adult performer Sean Harding alleging widespread use of trans sex workers among anti-LGBTQ Republican lawmakers, Snider began working with a broker to sell her account to news outlets, with initial bids starting around $50,000.
Snider gathered text records and established a timeline confirming her presence in Washington alongside Graham’s schedule. However, before finalizing any deal, Snider received an anonymous phone call from a blocked number warning her to “watch your back” if she moved forward.
“I landed, I went right to my room, took all my ads down, locked my door, and did not see anyone new. I just kept a really low profile,” Snider said, noting that fear forced her to pull the story.
Snider decided to speak out publicly following Graham’s death on July 11, after seeing another trans woman share a similar account online.
Anti-LGBTQ Legislative Records Under Fire
Snider framed her decision to go public around legislative accountability rather than personal exposure, pointing directly to Graham’s record on LGBTQ+ issues. During his tenure, Graham supported a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, opposed the Respect for Marriage Act, and consistently backed restrictions on gender-affirming care, transgender athletes, and bathroom access.
“I’m over like entertaining these down low conservative people,” Snider said. “You’re going to want to lay in bed with me in private, but then vote against my rights in public. Make it make sense.”
She added: “Where the line in the sand is drawn is when you are actively working to push anti-LGBT legislation when you’re over in private on your hands and knees with us.”
Hunter Biden Calls Out the “Closetocracy”
Snider’s account lands amid a broader, increasingly open conversation about covert sexual dynamics within conservative political circles. Appearing on the I’ve Had It podcast, Hunter Biden addressed what he described as a pervasive culture of double lives in federal governance.
Biden specifically targeted what he called the “closetocracy” operating inside Capitol Hill. “I believe that the biggest problem in Washington, D.C. with the federal government is… the closetocracy, as I call it,” Biden stated. “There is like this closeted gay mafia, largely Republican, that exists in Washington D.C., and everybody knows every single one of them who is gay.”
Biden argued that the hostility driving anti-LGBTQ legislation stems directly from this internal repression, suggesting that politicians direct their personal shame outward toward the public. “The only reason that internal conflict [creates] so much vitriol inside a person [is] that they take it out on the rest of the world,” Biden noted. “They can’t be who they want to be until they take it out on everybody else.”
Don Lemon and the Rumor Mill Around Hawley
Adding further momentum to these discussions, journalist Don Lemon joined the host on an episode of the I’ve Had It podcast to react to emerging allegations regarding Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.
The conversation centered on viral claims made by Chef Joe Guerra on X (formerly Twitter). Guerra alleged that a staff member at his establishment witnessed Hawley kissing a male escort behind the building. Gera wrote directly to Hawley online: “Maybe we should ask Carlos… the busboy who saw you kissing your escort date… about your integrity, Josh. You know, the guy you gave a hundred dollars to stay quiet after you chased him into the elevator?”
Reacting to the post on air, Lemon noted that while the claims remain unverified, rumors regarding high-profile conservative figures have circulated in Washington media circles for years. “I’m not surprised by these allegations or these rumors because they’ve been going around, but I’m actually surprised at the prevalence of them now,” Lemon noted.
Accountability over Privacy
For Snider, the pattern across Washington highlights a systemic conflict between private actions and public governance. While she acknowledged having had other sitting conservative members of Congress as clients, she emphasized that the decision to name Graham specifically came down to his leadership role in driving anti-trans policy.
“At the end of the day, are you really going to jeopardize an entire group of people’s rights and quality of life just so that you can save a couple bucks on your taxes?” Snider asked.
This video is directly relevant because it features the full, primary-source interview between Spencer Macnaughton and Taylor Snider detailing the allegations against late Sen. Lindsey Graham.