A gay bar in Dallas has come under fire for hosting a drag show for kids which took place on a stage that carried an obscene message.
The “Drag the Kids to Pride” show at the Mr. Misster bar was advertised as a “family-friendly” version of the bar’s regular “Champagne Drag Brunch.” According to local WFAA, during Saturday’s event, some drag performers danced with and took dollar bills from children.
“Do you want to hit the stage with the queens?” read a promotion for the event. “We have FIVE limited spots for young performers to take the stage solo, or with a queen of their choosing!”
Images taken from inside the venue instantly went viral, especially photos of a large neon sign that read, “It’s Not Gonna Lick Itself.”
What does their utopia even look like? Do this shit eventually lead to a world where it’s socially acceptable, even legislated to protect, children in gay bars doing drag, gyrating & flouncing around in skimpy burlesque outfits? Is this the end game here? I just don’t get it 😳
— SunitaDHutcho (@sunhutcho) June 4, 2022
It’s a sign for the adults, that’s at a place that is typically for the adults. They aren’t telling kids “it’s not gonna lick it’s self”.
— Arabella Stevenson 🇺🇦 (@aripari18) June 4, 2022
Outside the club, people gathered to protest what they view as a blatant attempt at grooming children. And to that point, it’s not at all clear why any parent would be okay with taking their children to such an event.
“I live in this community,” said a woman who gave her name as Dasy and was holding a sign that read, “Stop grooming children,” told WFAA. “I have for several years. I don’t believe that I should be seeing signs advertising for children to be dancing on stage with men in thongs and in inappropriate clothing and makeup.”
An organization called “Protect Texas Kids” also demonstrated outside the venue, with organizers saying they had hoped to shut down the event as soon as they heard about it.
“The mission was to raise awareness that an event like this, a drag show for children, was happening right in Dallas,” the organization said in a statement. “We also hoped that if we raised awareness, the event might be canceled or modified so that children couldn’t be present.”
Protect Texas Kids said Dallas police removed children and families from inside the bar, but DPD officials told WFAA officers were only on hand for crowd control.
Needless to say, the reactions online were vehement. Some also blasted police on the scene for allowing children into a bar, where the legal age limit is 21, in the first place.
My question is, have all of the child welfare services in the state of Texas closed down? And aren’t there statutes against exposing children to sexual depravity?
— Dr. Jonny Republic If You Can Keep It 🇺🇸 (@JonDougherty10) June 5, 2022
7 year olds tipping drag queens and hanging out in a 21 and up bar & the Dallas Police dept is letting it happen….why not enforce the law? @DallasPD @Johnson4Dallas pic.twitter.com/aQCWqwlI2L
— Alex Stein #99 (@alexstein99) June 4, 2022
What happened in Dallas today with the children at the drag show was pure evil.
— Election Wizard 🇺🇸 (@ElectionWiz) June 4, 2022
The bar released a statement claiming the event was held to raise money for a local LGBTQ+ youth organization. The bar also accused protestors of being “transphobic,” which is lame, lazy, and stupid.
“We are more than happy to open our doors to celebrate Pride in a family friendly, safe environment, separate from our normal operations of 2 p.m. – 2 a.m. on Saturdays because we believe that everyone should have a space to be able to celebrate who they are,” the statement read. “Mr. Misster is a place where everyone is welcome to feel accepted, safe and included. We had a group of protestors outside yelling homophobic threats, transphobic remarks and vile accusations at these children and parents.”
If we can’t or won’t protect our own children from this kind of filth, we should stop acting surprised when they grow up valueless and become mass murderers.
