Governor Whitmer Absolutely Ate On TikTok's 'Gaydar' Quiz Show
Michigan's governor proves she knows her LGBTQ+ trivia while sharing heartfelt moments about supporting the community
Picture this: Michigan's governor gets quizzed on gay bars, queer slang and Progress Flag colors by a drag queen on TikTok. Sounds like a fever dream? Nope, it's just another day in Big Gretch's world.
"Gaydar," the viral TikTok show hosted by trans creator Anania, has become legendary for its fast-paced quiz format that determines whether guests are "gay, straight or a homophobe" based on their knowledge of queer history and culture. The show boasts 286,800 followers, more than 80 million views and 12.1 million likes after launching in July 2024, and has featured everyone from Chappell Roan to Bob the Drag Queen.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently joined the show's roster of guests, and honestly? She came prepared. While our faithful readers and followers of Whitmer already know about her steadfast LGBTQ+ advocacy and policy wins, we learned a few delightful new things from her Gaydar appearance, including that she has her own hilarious definition for MLM. In an interview that showcased both her policy knowledge and personal connection to the LGBTQ+ community, Whitmer once again demonstrated why she's earned a reputation as a fierce ally.
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Here are seven things we learned about Whitmer's allyship from her Gaydar appearance:
She said what she said about gay bars. When asked to name a gay bar in Michigan, Whitmer didn't hesitate: "Gigi's in Detroit. But my favorite gay bar was Spiral. It was in Lansing, Michigan. My mother was the one that actually took me there for the first time." She explained that her mom "liked to dance," making for what Anania called a "woke mama" moment.
She understood the assignment on Michigan LGBTQ+ history. Whitmer correctly identified Michigan as the first state to elect an openly LGBTQ+ person to public office, specifically naming Ann Arbor as the city and Kathy Kozachenko as the person. Her knowledge of local queer history runs deep.
She's not about to let anti-trans bills pass, period. When asked about her pledge to veto anti-trans legislation, Whitmer was unequivocal: "Trans people are people. Period. And they deserve to have respect and protection of the law. Right now, all the crap coming out of D.C. makes everyone feel less safe, and it's wrong. And so I wanted to send a message to my community, I got your back."
She served major legislative wins. Whitmer highlighted one of her proudest achievements: "A year and a half ago, I was able to sign full civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community. That means before two years ago, if you were gay or trans, nonbinary, you could be thrown out of your home or fired from your job because of who you are or how you identify. You now are protected from that, and I'm damn proud of that." The governor was referring to her 2023 signing of an amendment to Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which extended discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ residents.
She's been doing the work with Michigan's LGBTQ+ commission. When asked about the first state to create an LGBTQ+ commission, Whitmer proudly claimed Michigan, explaining "they give us counsel as to how we can make sure that people got full civil rights, that they've got protections. We've done things like legitimize and legalize surrogacy, pay to be seen in Michigan, protecting every person who wants to go on the parental journey, no matter what that journey looks like."
She's got the tea on queer culture and clapped back perfectly. Whitmer showed off her knowledge of queer terminology, correctly defining "serving" as "looking good" and noting the brown and black stripes on the Progress Flag represent "brown and Black people." She even joked about MLM standing for "Midwest Lesbian Mom, which is me" before correctly identifying it as "men loving men." When asked to rank the Great Lakes in order of queerness, Whitmer picked Lake Michigan because "you get the sunsets and Saugatuck is maybe the gayest community in Michigan, and it's on Lake Michigan." Anania's cheeky response about "Soggy Tuck" earned a perfect comeback from the governor: "You're on your own journey in at night." When asked about her favorite queer artist, Whitmer named Cole Escola and mentioned she's "taking my girls to 'Oh, Mary!' tomorrow night."
She came through with the best parenting advice. When asked for three ways parents can support their queer children, Whitmer's response was heartfelt: "By loving them, by fighting for them, and by telling their story as parents, and making space for other parents to do that same thing." She also revealed her close relationship with her daughters when discussing a hypothetical dinner party with queer icons, saying she'd invite Freddie Mercury and Chappell Roan, "and I'd bring my daughter. She'd be really pissed if I left her out." When Anania joked about her other daughter being excluded, Whitmer quipped "her younger sister was going to be mad, but she's not queer, so you're out." Whitmer's elder daughter is openly lesbian.
Whitmer's "Gaydar" appearance reminded us exactly why we're going to miss Big Gretch when she terms out of office at the end of 2026. Her appearance on the show comes as "Gaydar" continues to provide what creator Anania calls "an accessible entry point for folks to learn about queer history — whether it be legislative progress, iconic activism, or cornerstone cultural moments."
The governor's performance earned Anania's final assessment: "I think you're straight, but you're a fierce ally." Whitmer's response: "A hundred percent. I'm a fierce ally."
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