At a Tennessee Pride celebration, a so-called “family-friendly drag act” sparked shock and controversy when a young audience member seemed to touch a performer below the waist.
The tape, which was taken from the drag performance for “Pride Youth Day” at Wanderlinger Brewing Company, was shared by a number of conservative influencers, including right-wing writer Andy Ngo.
In a section of the video, a little girl approaches an Ariel impersonator and places her hand towards the performer’s crotch.
The child in the video seems to want to feel the Disney princess-inspired costume that they were wearing, as shown in the film.
According to a representative for Chattanooga Pride, the artist is a biological woman who has given multiple performances for young audiences in the region. All of the Disney Princess impersonators that appeared during the performance were identified as being biological women.
They contend that the video is taken out of context and that it doesn’t show the performer moving the child’s hands away from her and stepping back from her after the performance.
The younger youngster was caressing her tail since it was made of a reversible sequin fabric, according to their full statement, which continues, The performer redirected the youngster by moving to the side, which was not visible in the footage.
Additionally, they claim that the film contains excerpts from events that children were not permitted to attend, including one artist who extended their legs to display their underwear.
The spokesman claims that they and the company have received death threats as a result of the tweet.
The footage has infuriated conservatives, with activist Robby Starbuck declaring, “I believe it’s absolutely wrong.”
Even some of the most famous drag queens in the world have no problem acknowledging that this is, you know, kind of, let’s call it an art form, a highly sexual one.
The event was described as “Yet another horrible show of child indoctrination and grooming of innocent youngsters by the hands of sexualized drag queens,” according to a blogger for the right-wing website Law Enforcement Today.
The mother of three small children who attended the event, Natalie Green, justified the situation by stating, “The princesses were not drag performers; they were cisgender women.” That kid is not being coerced in any way. She is around three years old and saw something sparkly.
She stated that she enjoys watching RuPaul’s Drag Race with her kid and that she’d want to attend a drag event.
‘The families in attendance voiced no issues and supported the activities happening related to the event and have supported the promoter on social media defending their choice, their children, and Chattanooga Pride,’ a spokesman for the bar, which claims it hosts everything from LGBTQ+ to church-related events, said in a statement.
Weston Wamp, the mayor of Hamilton County, expressed his indignation at the video by remarking, “This isn’t hard.” Both parents and business owners should avoid bringing children to drag performances. It’s unfortunate that this is taking place during Ironman weekend, when our region’s finest is on show. No, these are not our values, to the visitors.
The Chattanooga Pride Board said in a post on Facebook that more protection is being added to additional activities during their celebration, but that they would still go as planned.
The 2022 Chattanooga Pride Board said in its letter that it “stands steadfast against all types of discrimination, bigotry, racism, homophobia, and transphobia.” Thank you to our community’s allies and backers. We appreciate you supporting us. Your assistance is appreciated.