Inside the dirty tricks & deep pockets behind that dubious Lindsey Graham gay sex doc

It was billed as a sordid October surprise.

Cenk Uygur, co-founder of the progressive outlet The Young Turks, teased on October 21 that a “bombshell documentary” was going to expose an unnamed senator for using male escorts. The doc, called The CLOSETocracy, dropped the following day.

But its revelations weren’t greeted with enthusiasm. Instead, politicos and gay people alike expressed apathy–and in some cases antipathy. The half-hour doc features interviews with three male escorts who allege that Lindsey Graham paid them for sex.

The project failed to register, because rumors about Graham’s sexuality have circulated for years. Also, the late senator died in July.

Politics, but make it gay!

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By the time Election Day rolled around, it seemed to be forgotten.

But don’t tell that to the film’s funders and boosters, who include Tucker Carlson and an heiress to the Getty fortune. While most observers blamed Darline Graham’s loss on her admitted lack of aptitude–and Tr*mp endorsing as a rubber stamp for his deeply unpopular agenda–they think the years-old allegations against her dead brother decided the pivotal race.

Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham in ruby red South Carolina by nearly five points.

“I think it’s fair to say we were partly responsible for shifting over 140,000 votes away from her,” one of the filmmakers told New York Magazine (Andrews won by 91,810 votes).

While that’s uncertain, the story behind the salacious project is now known, thanks to a New York feature. Our top takeaways from the “Sex-Doc Guerrillas” are below…

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A Clinton mega donor, a Getty heiress & Tucker Carlson

The CLOSETocracy was conceived by Democratic strategists Jack Bury and Micah Erfan and distributed by The Young Turks. But the money and enthusiasm behind it tells a more layered story.

New York reports the top funder was Susie Tompkins Buell, the 84-year-old fashion mogul and Democratic mega donor. She’s best known for her affiliation with Bill and Hillary Clinton; she contributed more than $15 million to their campaigns. In the 2016 race, the SF Chronicle called her “Hillary’s soul mate.”

Buell became so enamored with the doc, she allowed them to film in a barn on her sprawling property in ultra-beautiful Marin County.

She relayed a story about hugging one of the men, an escort who says he met Graham twice in D.C. hotels. “I said, ‘I’m so proud of you, Jesse.’” she recalled. “And he said, ‘Nobody’s ever said that to me before.’”

Despite her earnest relationship with the escorts, Buell knew she was backing a tawdry project. Bury acquired contact info for the men from a far-right troll who weaponizes gay rumors against GOP pols.

Lindsey Graham was one of his targets, When he passed, he turned his sights on Darline.

This sleazy backstory in mind, Buell had trouble attracting other investors. But one person who did invest was Aileen Getty, an heiress to the Getty oil fortune and an environmental activist.

“You can be principled and still be fearless,” said Buell.

If the project’s wealthy female patrons were silent supporters, its male boosters were loud backers. Before last Tuesday’s election, Tucker Carlson sent a message to one of the producers: “Thank you in advance.”

Ronan Farrow investigates

One of the male escorts in CLOSETocracy, identified as “Cory” first came forward in 2020, the last year Lindsey Graham was up for reelection.

The New York piece mentions that Pulitzer Prize-winner Ronan Farrow also investigated Graham in 2020, and spoke to two of the escorts. But his reporting was never published.

The questions that remain

New York’s Nate Weisberg writes that Bury employed researchers, some with backgrounds in intelligence, who investigated the men’s claims for months. But their corroborating evidence hasn’t been released.

One might expect there to be texts or messages between Graham and the escorts. But so far, nothing has been produced.

Speaking of the men, we don’t know their motives. They could’ve been paid to appear in a doc, a question the piece doesn’t address.

“I still have so many questions about this doc,” said Business Insider’s Jacob Shamsian, who’s reported on the Epstein Files. “Are there text messages or other records of communications between Lindsay Graham and these men? Were they paid for their interviews in the documentary? etc…”

I still have so many questions about this "documentary." Are there text messages or other records of communications between Lindsay Graham and these men? Were they paid for their interviews in the documentary? etc…— Jacob Shamsian (@JayShams) November 11, 2026

The answers to those questions would clear up a lot of the doubt. In other words, don’t expect it!

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