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The ‘Billy Graham Rule’ Keeps Women On the Sidelines
A candidate’s request for a male chaperone sets a dangerous precedent
One of Mississippi’s gubernatorial candidates simply can’t be alone with women.
State Rep. Robert Foster’s campaign faced widespread ridicule on Thursday after he refused to conduct a one-on-one ride-along interview with a female reporter. Taking cues from evangelical media mogul Billy Graham and Vice President Mike Pence, Foster said he refused to be alone with a woman — unless she brought a male colleague with her — out of respect for his wife. “I’m not going to ever be put into a situation, with any female, to where they can make an accusation against me and there’s not a witness there to refute that accusation,” Foster later said on CNN in defense of his actions.
Larrison Campbell, the Mississippi Today reporter who was barred from interviewing Foster, joined the candidate on CNN to confront him directly, questioning his credentials for governor if he’s unable to meet with women alone. Foster tried to portray himself as a stalwart man of principle and devotion; he and his wife had mutually agreed to the never-alone policy, he said, and he was sorry if that “hurt Campbell’s feelings.”
