Graham Platner, the progressive Maine Democrat and Army and Marine veteran running to replace Republican Susan Collins in her Senate seat in 2026, has addressed new revelations of homophobic language he used on the social media platform Reddit.

“I made a lot of comments over the years and talked a lot of s**t on the internet. I have no reason to doubt that at some point I used language that I would not be using today,” Platner told The Advocate after being confronted with the posts.

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“It’s indefensible,” he said.

The admission comes after weeks of similar disclosures, including a drunken wedding video with the candidate singing in his underwear, and a tattoo of the “Totenkopf,” a Nazi symbol. Platner has already apologized for his use of racist and misogynistic language.

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The 45-year-old boutique oyster farm owner and political newcomer posted to Reddit under the handle P-Hustle between 2016 and 2021, four years after he returned from multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan. He freely used terms like “gay” (as a pejorative) and “f*g” in recollections of his time in the Army and Marines.

In a 2016 post, Platner described guard duty as a Groundhog Day of boredom and masturbation: “No, seriously. Flog that f**ker as often as possible … write gay poetry about how gay your current job is … Congratulations! You’ve made it through one shift! Now do it all again in 12 hours. Welcome to the world of standing post, where sanity is a sliding scale.”

A “gay off” was the subject of another post two years later: “Pull into Bahrain in ’07 on a MEU, a Royal Navy submarine happens to be in port at the same time. … Before we even realize what’s going on, the other weird bast**d just leans down and licks the damn thing from the bottom of the ballsack all the way up to the top of the d**k. Stands up, looks dead at us and yells ‘BEAT THAT!’ … I proudly withdrew our team on the grounds that one cannot play gay chicken if one is actually gay.”

Other uncovered observations from Platner about military life include:

“I suppose some gay fellas still prefer holes as well. Party on top bros.”

“Officers are gay. Army or navy, I really don’t give a f**k about your frat.”

“This was the gayest (not in the fun d**k sucking way) thing I’ve ever seen. This dude is literally everything I hate all rolled into one.”

And, “I like how our gay antics make him so uncomfortable he hates us. I’m doubling down on gay chicken next time in honor of this Air Force p**sy.”

Platner deployed the f-slur in an argument with other users in 2018: “Betcha not a single downvoter is a real combat vet. Feel free to back it up with facts, f*gs.”

The disclosures come as new polling reveals that Platner has double the support of voters as Democratic rival and veteran pol Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) and continues to attract big crowds across the state.

Mills, 77, was recruited to run by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who said in answer to questions about Platner, “We think that Janet Mills is the best candidate to retire Susan Collins. She’s a tested two-term governor, and the people of Maine have an enormous amount of affection and respect for her.”

Platner has the endorsement of fellow progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is standing firm in his support of the first-time candidate.

“This is a guy who served four terms in combat. He was a Marine, four tours of duty,” Sanders said. “He saw friends die. He came out of that war, as he has acknowledged, with PTSD, got good treatment at the VA, got his life together.”

Said another onetime outsider candidate, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), of the controversies surrounding Platner: “Get over yourselves, and just let the Dems in Maine do what they’re gonna do.”

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