Mark Robinson

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: an ardently antigay GOP politician is being accused of indulging in salacious behavior.

The latest antagonist for the tried-and-true tale is North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson, who has an abhorrent history of insulting and demeaning LGBTQ+ people. The ultra-hateful man has called homosexuality an “abominable sin” and criticized the trans rights movement as “demonic.”

In addition, he’s labeled the queer community as a “Satanic cult of perversion” and said queer allies are “disciples of Satan.”

You get the picture. Mark Robinson is very, very passionate about hating gay people.

He’s also apparently very, very passionate about adult films… according to six former employees and regulars of local adult film stores.

The Assembly, a reputable digital magazine in North Carolina, recently published an expose on Robinson’s alleged history as a regular to adult film shops. A man named Louis Money, who worked in several of Greensboro’s “windowless, 24-hour video-pornography stores,” told the publication that Robinson was a frequent customer in the 1990s and early 2000s. He alleges the homophobic Lt. Gov. came in five nights a week, often watching the steamy videos in private booths.

Though Robinson vehemently denies the allegations–his spokesperson called the claims “bullsh*t and “complete fiction”–he’s talked before about his promiscuous history. The pugilistic pastor wrote in his 2022 memoir that even converting to evangelical Christianity didn’t change his sordid behavior.

“I did not, however, experience a drastic conversion like some do,” he writes. “My behavior did not immediately reform. They say sin is fun for a season, and I was in that season.”

Robinson’s sin of choice was apparently “bootleg” adult films, which Money said were “super hardcore” and acquired in New York City.

“He was good for at least one a week,” Money said.

Admittedly, there are some reasons to doubt Money’s account. His band, Trailer Park Orchestra, released a song about Robinson allegedly stiffing him for one of the aforementioned videos, “The Lt. Governor Owes Me Money.”

The lyrics are… not very serious.

“I made you a bootleg. I did it all the time. Most of the time you paid me. I guess it, uh, slipped your mind.”

But in defense of Money, five other people back up his claims. He also mentions that Robinson told a lot of homophobic jokes targeting the store’s gay clientele, which TBH, sounds like something the guy would do.

Robinson’s spokesperson doesn’t deny the Lt. Gov. knows Money; but rather, says they only know each other because Money used to “hang out” at the Papa Johns where Robinson used to work. (Money, for his part, said that’s ridiculous… because Papa Johns is takeout only.)

While Robinson’s history as a sleazy fiend may be debatable, there’s little doubt his toxic presence is bringing down Republicans in North Carolina. Despite North Carolina’s status as a battleground state, Democratic nominee Josh Stein (the current AG) is leading Robinson by an average of 9.3%!

The picture is so bleak, some Trump allies are blaming Robinson for hurting the criminally convicted ex-president in the Tar Heel State as well.

“Trump is being weighed down by a very unpopular Republican candidate for governor,” Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former chief of staff, told News Nation last month.

“Trump is going to have some difficulty in this state, in North Carolina, that he may not have in others,” he continued.

The polls bear out Mulvaney’s prediction. Cook Political Group, the respected nonpartisan polling firm, now says North Carolina is a “toss up” between Kamala Harris and Trump (Democrats haven’t won North Carolina since Barack Obama captured the state in 2008).

With 16 electoral votes, winning North Carolina would open up new paths of victory for Harris.

Given Robinson’s apparent affliction for dirty tapes, maybe it would be better for him if Trump didn’t win. Project 2025, the right-wing fever dream of a blueprint for a second Trump term, declares porongraphy should be outlawed.

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