RuPaul went on The Late Late Show WIth James Corden to discuss the issue of Republican lawmakers proposing bills all over the United States to prevent children from attending drag shows.
When Corden asked about his thoughts on the ban, RuPaul gave those politicians a piece of his mind by telling them they should focus more on the recent drastic increase of mass shootings and guns instead of drag queens.
“This is a diversion tactic to take the narrative away from the gun debate into something to scare people into thinking about something else, and they’ve been successful,” RuPaul told Corden. “They have changed the narrative away from the gun debate into this drag queen thing. It’s like y’all want to help your kids? Take away them guns, that will help your kids. Drag queens ain’t hurting nobody. Everybody’s in drag.”
While Texas representatives were supposed to be focusing on the horrific Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde and controlling access to guns, Conservative Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton took time out of his day on June 6 to tweet his disapproval of a viral video. The video showed a drag queen dancing in front of a little girl to former Disney star Ashley Tisdale’s “He Said, She Said” song.
“Drag shows are no place for a child,” the tweet read. “I would never take my child to a drag show and I know Speaker Dade Phelan and my Republican colleagues wouldn’t either.”
He then said he would go to the legislature to propose a bill that banned kids from drag shows.
“The events of this past weekend were horrifying and show a disturbing trend in which perverted adults are obsessed with sexualizing young children,” he said in a press release. “Protecting our own children isn’t enough, and our responsibility as lawmakers extends to the sexualization that is happening across Texas.”
Drag shows are no place for a child.
I would never take my children to a drag show and I know Speaker Dade Phelan and my Republican colleagues wouldn’t either.
I will be filing legislation to address this issue in the new #txlege . pic.twitter.com/R7NkX7ADBR
— Bryan Slaton (@BryanforHD2) June 6, 2022
But Texas isn’t the only state fighting for the ban. Florida, Arizona, and other states are pushing to ban minors from drag shows.
Christina Pushaw, the press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, commented on the viral video.
If this was a female exotic dancer in a club, kids wouldn’t be allowed there. So why is this allowed? Because it’s a man in drag?
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) June 5, 2022
During a press conference in Fort Myers, DeSantis stated that what occurred in the video was inappropriate and “not something that children should be exposed to.”
Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini ran his Twitter fingers to announce that he “will be proposing legislation to charge [with] a Felony & terminate the parental rights of any adult who brings a child to these perverted sex shows aimed at FL kids.”
BREAKING: Drag Sex Shows aimed at children have come to Florida
I will be proposing Legislation to charge w/ a Felony & terminate the parental rights of any adult who brings a child to these perverted sex shows aimed at FL kids
When will the sexualization of children stop? pic.twitter.com/m8cJ2ORNJo
— Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) June 7, 2022
Arizona Republican lawmakers released a statement on June 14 saying, “If men want to dress as women and if adults want to participate in watching these hyper-sexualized performances, they have the freedom to do so. It crosses the line when kids are subjected to these drag shows.”
