My two cents at the time it was widely believed that Harold could be gay However I never heard any rumors about the underwear at the time of his death and I was extremely wellpositioned to have heard it Nelsons stated goal of humanizing him is a very good motive for him to make up such a rumor so we would need a source that predates the creation of the painting to include it The picture should be confined to the Mirth  Girth page but the controversy was so huge that mention must be made of it on the Harold Washington page