According to a lawsuit filed on Friday, the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) tried to cancel the liquor license of a Florida establishment that held a drag show that was “sexually explicit” and was accessible to children.
The state of Florida had issued advisories about restricting attendees if the show was sexually explicit, yet the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza center, a performance art venue, had sponsored a performance of “A Drag Queen Christmas” on Dec. 28.
After the performance, the Florida Dept. of Professional and Business Regulation, finding that there were children in attendance and that the performance was explicit, filed an administrative complaint to withdraw the venue’s liquor license.
According to DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin, “Gov. DeSantis stands to defend the innocence of children, and when the governor says he will do something he always follows through.”
The theater “marketed the Show using targeted, Christmas-themed advertising materials that did not offer warning as to the sexually explicit nature of the show’s performance or other content,” according to the lawsuit.
“Respondent’s promotional literature unambiguously said ‘all ages welcome,’ rather than draw attention to the Show’s sexually explicit material or concede that it may not be appropriate for minors,” the lawsuit says.
The event featured sexually explicit children’s Christmas carols like “Screwdolph the Red-Nippled Reindeer,” as well as showing prosthetic breasts and female genitalia, actors’ buttocks, and simulated masturbation, according to the officials.
The department moved to cancel the liquor license after receiving a complaint alleging that the performance broke many Florida regulations. The allegation comes after Florida looked into a number of drag shows, including one in Fort Lauderdale.
Republicans have made similar efforts to prohibit minors from viewing sexually graphic drag performances in other states. A law meant to stop kids from going to such shows advanced earlier this week in the Tennessee state Senate.
Republican state senator Jack Johnson, who initiated the measure, told The Daily Wire in Dec. that he is “cautiously hopeful” that it will be approved.
“I think we can all agree that some of the recent drag show videos we’ve seen weren’t at all like the family-friendly drag shows they purported to be. And if I had gone to one of those events with my children, I would have felt ashamed and wanted someone to be held accountable for providing that type of entertainment in front of my children,” Johnson added.
