Chris Gallant’s attorney is pushing back after racy photos surfaced of the Democratic House candidate modeling fetish gear.
Gallant, 37, the Democratic nominee challenging Republican Rep. Nick LaLota in New York’s 1st Congressional District, appeared in multiple images for San Francisco-based “Mr. S Leather” between 2011 and 2020, according to internet archives. The photos show him wearing collars, leather straps, neoprene, bondage gear and other equipment. Some depict hardcore pornographic poses, including fully naked and having sex with another man, with muzzles, blindfolds and a cage visible in certain shots.
“The photographs are authentic and were taken during a private, consensual photo session involving Chris and his then-partner, with whom he was in a committed four-year relationship,” his attorney Sara Azari told The Post.
Azari, who has also represented former Rep. Eric Swalwell, said Gallant was friends with the owner of the fetish store. “The shoot was intended to be fun and personal, with the understanding that Mr. S could use select images in connection with certain products,” she added.
Gallant has served in the Army National Guard since 2006 as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot, according to his LinkedIn profile, a service period that likely overlapped with his modeling. He also works as a volunteer firefighter and previously served as an FAA air traffic controller and local union chapter leader in the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
“As Chris began considering a future in public service, he asked that the photographs no longer be used and that they be removed from the company’s website. Mr. S honored his request,” Azari continued. The most recent archived instance of his modeling promoting a specific product appears to be around 2020, when he was shown marketing the “Simple Posture Collar” for $89.95.
Other images of Gallant in Mr. S Leather gear have appeared on gay porn sites unaffiliated with the store. Azari explained that Gallant’s limited understanding with Mr. S Leather “was never intended to authorize unrestricted publication” by third parties.
The images were matched to Gallant through facial recognition software, with additional identifying marks including an identical blemish on his left temple and his distinctive earlobe shape. A 2007 photo from a Fire Island LGBTQ festival shows a younger Gallant with a similar close-cropped haircut to the fetish pics. His attorney confirmed that separate, less erotic 2007 photo from the annual “Invasion of the Pines” event was captured years before the Mr. S Leather shoot.
“He will not allow photographs from a past relationship or employment to be distorted and weaponized for political purposes or used to distract voters from the issues that matter,” Azari stressed.
“These photographs have no bearing on Chris’s record, qualifications, judgment, or ability to serve,” she went on. “He remains fully committed to his campaign and to earning the trust of the people he seeks to represent.”
Gallant won the Democratic primary in June against 25-year-old NYU graduate Lukas Ventouras, who was caught liking antisemitic memes and posts online. The general election race against LaLota, a US Navy veteran who has held the seat since 2022, is ranked “solid” Republican by the Cook Political Report.
LaLota succeeded former Rep. Lee Zeldin, who left Congress to become EPA Commissioner. The eastern Long Island district has remained in Republican hands despite Democratic efforts to flip competitive House seats in the 2022 and 2024 cycles.
