Michelle Lally of Bravo's 'The Valley' Pushes Back on Supposed 'Don't Say Gay' Law Support: 'I'm Not Homophobic'

Michelle Lally, one of the stars of Bravo's reality show "The Valley," pushed back on fellow cast members theorizing that she might be supportive of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law, UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported.

"To be honest, I don't follow politics. I don't know exactly what that bill does," Lally said after another of the show's stars, Janet Caperna, said on a March episode of the show that she had indicated her approval of the law. "So I don't talk about it because I don't have an opinion because I don't know what is yes, what is no," Lally added.

Despite saying she doesn't follow politics, Lally asserted that she doesn't "believe any of those things," and declared, "Like, I am not homophobic in any way."

Lally made her denial while appearing on the podcast Virtual Reali-Tea, which is produced by tabloid newspaper Page Six.

Page Six recalled that in March cast member Janet Caperna shared on camera that, "Michelle, Brittany [Cartwright] and I were at dinner a few months ago and Michelle said something along the lines of, 'Don't Say Gay' laws protect children."

"And I'm like, 'No, no, no ... you're wrong,'" Caperna related, adding, "I thought maybe she got swept into an algorithm that maybe is teaching her some things that are not true."

Caperna shared the story with others, including out bisexual castmate Jasmine Goode and her husband, Jason.

"I was like, 'But, since it's related to the LGBTQ community, if you happen to hear her talking about it and sense the same thing I did, it might be a teachable moment,'" Page Six quoted Caperna as saying.

As happens with rumours, "That information eventually made its way to Goode's fellow queer 'Valley' cast mate, Zack Wickham, who later told Kristen Doute," Page Six narrated, at which point "The 'Vanderpump Rules' alum eventually discussed the issue on camera, convoluting Caperna's initial assessment of Lally's alleged homophobia with her being a Republican and racist, too."

Lally decried all of that.

"We were trying to figure it out and finally, we got where this conversation came from which was a long time ago and it wasn't really a conversation," Lally said on the podcast.

"It was just a dinner and I might have made a comment but that turned into something so much uglier and it was very upsetting because Kristen had the opportunity to tell me this before filming and that's the first time she mentions it?" Lally went on to say. "And she did add and twist a lot, so it was hard to deal with."

In fact, Lally declared, some of her best friends are gay. "Like, the person who married Jesse and I, he's our best friend and he's gay and I embrace anybody and everybody."

The "Don't Say Gay" law, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in March of 2022, criminalizes classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ people. Originally touted as applying only through Grade 3 – though the vague language of the bill also could have be applied to any grade – the law was expanded last year to extend from kindergarten through high school.

Critics say the law effectively erases LGBTQ+ students and staff, as well as their families, by stifling comments or questions that may arise in the school setting when a student is LGBTQ+ themselves or has friends or family members who may be queer. Signals of support such as Pride flags and other such inclusive decorations are also forbidden.

A lawsuit earlier this year led to a settlement that provided some clarity where the law had initially been murky and reportedly shielded the rights of teachers, staff, and students to an extent.