'I Felt Powerless': Man Who Says He Was 17 Describes Alleged $120 Lindsey Graham Encounter in Film

A man who says he was 17 claims he felt powerless during an alleged $120 (£90) sexual encounter with Lindsey Graham in Arizona. Identified as Kelvin, he says he feared losing the money if he challenged Graham about his age.

His account appears in The CLOSETocracy, a documentary released on Thursday, 22 October 2026. 'I felt powerless in arguing with him about it,' Kelvin says in the film. Neither his age nor the alleged encounter or payment has been independently verified.

Produced by Swamp Watch Studios and Tystnaden Films and released through The Young Turks, the documentary features three men alleging paid sexual encounters with Graham. It places their testimony alongside his public positions on LGBTQ+ rights.

Graham, who died in July 2026, served in the US House of Representatives in 2001.

Lindsey Graham Documentary Details Dispute Over Kelvin's Age

Kelvin says he began escorting at 16 after financial difficulties left him struggling to afford clothes. He describes trying to support himself while still at school. He says his need for money influenced how he handled the alleged meeting.

According to Kelvin, Graham contacted him through an escort website after someone recommended him. They arranged to meet at a property in Arizona in 2001. He describes arriving at a partly constructed house.

He alleges that sexual activity had begun when Graham looked closely at his face and questioned his age. 'You're under the age of 18. You're 17, aren't you?' Kelvin recalls Graham saying. Kelvin says he repeatedly insisted he was 18.

He also claims Graham asked to see identification, which Kelvin says he did not carry for safety reasons. Kelvin recalls giving 1983 as his birth year and insisting he had recently turned 18. These exchanges are Kelvin's recollections, not independently verified statements by Graham.

The filmmakers' companion website says an archived escort listing advertised Kelvin as 18 or 19. Its timeline also describes Graham checking identification, although Kelvin says in the film that he had none.

Alleged Recording and $120 Payment in Lindsey Graham Account

Kelvin says Graham later asked him to state his age aloud again. He recalls becoming concerned about a possible camera after noticing a blinking red light. He believed he was being recorded, but no footage of the alleged encounter has been independently authenticated.

His account then turns to the $120 (£90) he says he expected to receive. Kelvin says an argument might have cost him the money. 'I still want to collect, you know, the $120 (£90) that I came there for,' he says in the documentary.

He describes increasing anxiety and a feeling that he had little control over the situation.

Kelvin alleges sexual activity continued before Graham told him to get dressed. He says the payment had been left near a rafter where he had hung his coat. No independently authenticated record establishes that the alleged payment was made.

'He didn't really want to talk to me very much at that point. And then I was out the door,' Kelvin says. He later wonders whether the encounter would have unfolded differently had he appeared older.

Lindsey Graham Documentary Contrasts Allegations With Political Record

Two other men make separate allegations in the film. Cory describes an alleged encounter in which he says Graham requested degrading language. Jesse alleges he received $260 (£194) after a meeting at a Washington hotel in 2012. Their accounts have not been independently corroborated.

The filmmakers compare those claims with Graham's record on LGBTQ+ issues. He voted against the Respect for Marriage Act in November 2022, according to the US Senate's official roll call. His documented political positions do not establish anything about the encounters described in the film.

Swamp Watch says it assembled travel and newspaper records to examine the accounts. The organisation acknowledges that such records may place people in particular cities but cannot establish what happened during a private meeting.

Kelvin's description of the alleged age dispute, his concern about a camera and the payment he says he needed are central to his testimony. The documentary presents those claims in his own words, but the evidence reviewed does not independently establish the alleged meeting.

The question at the centre of his account remains what happened in Arizona in 2001. Kelvin maintains that he was 17 and received $120 (£90), while the available documentation leaves both claims unresolved.