FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — In a bizarre new twist, controversial Franklin mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson now claims a group of women were actually "protecting" her when they said they were "appalled" by her use of their images for her campaign.
Back in August, Hanson posted an image of a group of women who she said were members of an "Executive Women's Club" and were supporting her bid to oust current mayor Ken Moore. But, when NewsChannel 5 Investigates tracked down several of the women, they said they did not know Hanson nor did they support her campaign.
Hanson's story now, the latest in a series of ever-changing explanations, came in an interview with the conservative podcast Mill Creek View, and it falsely portrays how NewsChannel 5 tracked down the women.
"You can imagine you get a random call from some crazy guy going 'Do you know Gabrielle Hanson? What do you feel about her vote on Pride?' — because that was the question that they started out with," Hanson claimed in the podcast, shifting into a menacing voice.
"The first thing that a woman does is protect another woman, and they go 'I don't know what you're talking about.' If somebody called me about one of my friends, I'd be like 'I don't know what you're talking about' because I protect my girlfriends.
"Girls protect girls, women protect women."
One of the women in the photo responded to Hanson's latest claims with the following: "OMG! Insane." Another said, "Omg!!! She is incorrigible!"
OMG! @HansonforMayor tells @millcreekview that she was chosen as a “national spokesperson” for The Limited, that the women in that social-media post denied knowing her or supporting her b/c they were “protecting” her from the “crazy guy” who was calling them. 1/ pic.twitter.com/PUnOPjIcnD
— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) September 15, 2023
The truth is that the women were all reached through private messages through various social media platforms simply inquiring about the photo. The controversy over the Franklin Pride event was not mentioned in any of those messages.
Every woman reached by NewsChannel 5 Investigates denied that they were part of an "Executive Women's Club" and said that they did not remember Gabrielle Hanson.
They said the photo was taken at a brunch where the women, who were strangers at the time, got together in Chicago in 2016 to celebrate their inclusion in an advertising campaign for the women's clothing chain The Limited.
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After being contacted by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, some of the women looked through old photos and discovered that Hanson had been included in the campaign, although none of them remembered her nor were they supporting her mayoral campaign.
Faced with that discovery, Hanson's latest explanation abandons any claim that the women were part of an "Executive Women's Club."
Instead, she told the podcaster that she was selected as a "national spokesperson" for The Limited, along with the other women, and that the advertising campaign led to deep friendships among those pictured.
"When you go through that kind of process, photo shoots and opening up your heart and ideas in front of each other, you form a bond with these ladies," Hanson said.
"And it's grown from their friends became our friends, and it's grown, and some have dropped off, and many have moved around the country — Arizona, Atlanta, even Brentwood, myself in Franklin — and we've kept in touch over the years."
The women in the photo, she added, have "seen each other through highs, through lows. It's been an incredible journey."
But one of the women in the photo had previosly provided NewsChannel 5 Investigates with the following statement:
"I am appalled at the misuse of this photograph and the inaccurate representation of what is happening in it. Such blatant falsehoods being published exemplify the character of a candidate. As I've learned more about Gabrielle Hanson and her views, such an egregious attempt to show diverse female support is disgusting. Let this incident serve as a reminder of the importance of honesty, integrity, and respect for one another in the realm of public discourse and political engagement."
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