A Democratic candidate for U.S. House, who is seeking to unseat Nick LaLota, a Republican who has represented New York’s First District since 2023, acknowledged Monday that he posed years ago in an explicit advertisement campaign featuring leather bondage gear.
The candidate, Christopher Gallant, said the photos shouldn’t have any impact on his campaign or ability to serve in the position.
The photos, which were originally reported by the New York Post, show the candidate shirtless, wearing a leather collar attached to a chain, along with a leather face mask. In some of the photos, he’s in suggestive situations with another man.
The photos appeared on the site of a bondage apparel company, and they were taken down in 2010, according to Gallant’s lawyer, Sara Azari, the New York Times reported.
Azari said in a statement that the photos were taken during a private, consensual photo session, and they involved Gallant and his then-partner. Gallant and the man were in a committed four-year relationship. Gallant was also friends with the owner of the apparel company, and the shoot was intended to be fun and personal, with the understanding the photos could be used in connection with certain products, Azari said.
Gallant, 37, is an openly gay military pilot, former air traffic controller and a volunteer firefighter.
In a text to supporters, Gallant said that he is “not embarrassed or ashamed” of the photos. “I have always been unapologetically me,” the candidate said, adding that they don’t make him less qualified to be a Blackhawk helicopter pilot or an air traffic controller.
