A town in Indiana has canceled its “family-friendly” drag show after the event drew scorn on social media.
The event, “Pride in the Park,” was organized by the Dubois County Pride committee and was slated to take place June 24 in Jasper, Indiana. News of the show, which was “open for all ages,” was first shared by the viral Twitter account “Libs of TikTok.”
In Jasper Indiana, a pride event with a drag queen performance is being advertised for all ages and they are encouraging kids to bring cash to tip the drag queens. pic.twitter.com/jKBUCM8Rqx
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 31, 2022
“These professional entertainers can not [sic] wait to put on a pride-filled show for you all,” read an advertisement for the event. “Tips are not required, but are greatly appreciated by the entertainers (Drag is not cheap) so make sure to bring some cash.”
The flyer encouraged patrons to “stick around” after the show to take pictures with “the girls.”
At the time of publication, the Libs of TikTok post had garnered more than 3,000 “likes” and over 1,000 retweets. So on Wednesday, seemingly in response to the negative attention it garnered, the city canceled the event altogether.
Listen to the latest episode of the Faithwire podcast 👇
“We regretfully announce that, due to safety and security concerns, the family-friendly drag performance planned for Pride in the Park has been cancelled,” the committee wrote in a Facebook post. “This decision was jointly made by the City of Jasper, ONE- Dubois County, and the Dubois County Pride committee. While the Dubois County Pride committee is disappointed by this development, we are in no way deterred. Our mission to promote and advocate love and equality remains steadfast.”
Some were clearly upset over the show’s cancelation.
“Sad that some bad eggs ruin it for everyone!” one person commented on the committee’s post. “Jasper needs this inclusivity.” In response, the committee wrote, “Agreed. Inclusivity is the reason for this event. We hope to see you there!”
Another person asked, “What ‘safety concerns’ is there outside of any other concerns of a crowd gathering?” To which another replied, “They’ve been bombarded by harassment from bigots and Nazis thanks to a hateful Twitter campaign.”
News about Jasper’s so-called “family-friendly drag show” came just a couple weeks after parents in Pennsylvania raised their voices at a school board meeting after a teacher hosted an extracurricular drag show for students but failed to inform parents of the controversial event.
It wasn’t until footage of the event, hosted by the Gay-Straight Alliance club at Hempfield High School, began circulating on social media in early May that parents were alerted to its happening.
“Our schools are overreaching and indoctrinating our children, which has created confusion and stress in the most vulnerable,” one parent, Stacey Hernandez, said during the meeting, calling the show “filth” and “exploitation.”
Needless to say, parents were outraged and called the school board out for allowing it to happen. What was perhaps unexpected, though, were the parents who — before confronting the school board — joined hands in prayer and spoke kindly with LGBT-identified students at the school. You can read more about that here.
***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***