Undercover agents went to a drag show and found nothing ‘lewd’ about it at all

If you’re somehow looking for more proof that concerns about drag queens interacting with children are unfounded and part of an ongoing moral panic/culture war around LGBTQ+ people, then look no further than what happened at a venue in Orlando, Florida in December.

On 28 December, the Plaza Live theater put on a show called ‘A Drag Queen Christmas’, featuring what the Miami Herald reports was a performance from “Screwdolph the Red-Nippled Man Deer”.

Children and adults were in attendance, alongside undercover state agents who were there to find out if the show violated any laws around decency and the protection of children.

In completely unsurprising news, a report from the agents obtained by the Herald found nothing of the sort.

It reads: “Besides some of the outfits being provocative (bikinis and short shorts), agents did not witness any lewd acts such as exposure of genital organs. The performers did not have physical contact while performing to the rhythm of the music with any patrons.”

So no illegality or lewdness was uncovered by the agents, then, who the outlet also state took pictures of three minors in attendance at the show.

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It’s unclear if permission was sought by the agents to take pictures of the children, but we’d argue that’s probably creepier than a harmless drag queen entertaining families.

And yet, despite the agents finding absolutely nothing wrong, Florida governor Ron DeSantis appeared to hate the idea of being embarrassed and so decided to file a complaint against the venue anyway in early February.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation accused the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation of exposing minors to performances with a “sexually explicit nature” and “prosthetic breasts and genitalia, buttocks”.

Mr DeSantis’ administration had previously and reportedly warned the venue its license would face penalties if it did not ban children from the drag performances, which led to organisers reportedly placing a sign outside the venue which stated that while access to minors were not restricted, “some may think that the context is not appropriate for [people] under 18”.

Governor Ron DeSantis is in the running for the Republican presidential primary for 2024 alongside Donald Trump, an equally divisive figure who claimed his rival was “very overrated”.

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