Steve Wiles, Anti-Gay Marriage N.C. Senate Candidate, Used to Be a Drag QueenSteve Wiles, Anti-Gay Marriage N.C. Senate Candidate, Used to Be a Drag Queen
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“He is Mona Sinclair.”
Randy Duggins, co-owner of the former Club Odyssey, revealed that North Caroliina Republican state Senate candidate Steve Wiles—who supports the state’s constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage—worked as a drag queen at his club.
Now 24, Wiles worked in his early 20s as a female impersonator at the now-defunct club, in a story first broken by the Winston-Salem Journal.
At first, Wiles denied the allegations that he was Mona Sinclair, drag queen extraordinaire.
“That’s not me,” Wiles said three weeks ago. In the ensuing buzz, his Facebook, Twitter, and campaign website were taken down.
But Duggins and former employee Gray Tomlinson insisted that the conservative Senate candidate used to work their stage.
“I recognized his picture when I was looking in the paper. That’s definitely him. He has aged some, but that’s him,” Duggins said. "I have no ax to grind against him. I just think he's a liar."
Now Wiles has admitted that he was indeed Mona Sinclair. He posted on his Facebook that while he supports “equality for every American,” “state control of the institution of marriage is unconstitutional and a reach.”
He refused to comment on his sexuality, referring to his “club days” as a job that he gave up.
“For me, from a religious standpoint, just for my life, for me, it just was not something that I wanted to continue,” Wiles told Business Insider.
“Of course it was an embarrassment, but you know, you move on. You live life, and you change, and you make yourself what you want yourself to be. And that's where I am now.”
According to Gay Star News, Wiles posted a missive on his Facebook after the Journal article came out, which has since been taken down.
“My job was embarrassing - I had to have a job! Nobody died, leaving me a millionaire capable of living in North Carolina's most expensive neighborhood. One thing I will say, I learned from my mistakes...” Wiles wrote.
“I understand the gay community does not share my support for the Marriage Amendment - I RESPECT THAT and am very happy to discuss my views with any of my friends in the Democrat party and gay community. Meanwhile, I regret the fact that something so trivial would cloud an otherwise decent campaign....What more could be expected though? When policy fails, attacks begin.”
Sources: Daily Mail, Winston-Salem Journal, Business Insider, Gay Star News
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