MIAMI — After Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Parental Rights in Education” law — dubbed the “don’t say gay” law by its critics — the co-owner of R House, which hosts a popular drag brunch in Miami’s Wynwood district, had no qualms speaking out against it.
“Whatever is going on in Tallahassee, every weekend we will be representing our community in a positive way,” Owen Bale told the Miami Herald in April. “Doing what we do is a political statement in its own right.”
Now, R House itself is under fire from the governor and under investigation by the state over a video of a partially clad drag queen leading around a little girl during a brunch performance. The bar, through a public relations firm, vows the shows will indeed go on this weekend. But its owners weren’t making any statements, political or otherwise, a day after the governor warned the venue’s liquor license could be yanked — a move that could potentially close it down.
The target the governor has put on one venue also seems, at least for the moment, to have silenced South Florida’s famously flamboyant and long-running drag industry. Operators and performers are cautious about pushing back publicly, fearful that could trigger a flood of social media threats.
Those fears are not unfounded. The complaint comes amid a series of steps from the state to fight against what DeSantis has branded as the “sexualization of children,” amid a reelection bid that has received national attention among conservatives. Right-wing groups have escalated their attacks of drag queen shows on social media and in person.
Still, supporters of the drag industry expressed concern that the R House complaint might not just be a one-off deal. They worry about further crackdowns.
Chris Caputo, a city commissioner in Wilton Manors — named the second gayest city in the U.S. in 2010 — said drag shows have been a crucial part of his city’s history and he worried about the impact on businesses in his community. “What I think is very concerning is the reality that as a small city, this is something that is really difficult for us to fight back against,” said Caputo. “I actually think this can have dangerous implications for our drag queens.”
Carlos Andrade, the owner of a Miami-Dade event planning company Impress Your Guests, said he has planned events at R House before and was “horrified” to learn of the state investigation. “It really is scary as a small business owner … how the Governor can literally shut us down with his actions,” said Andrade, who is married to Christian Ulvert, a prominent Miami-based Democratic consultant. “Our country had turned the page on these dark times and now this governor is once again reopening the disgusting attacks on LGBT Americans. It’s wrong and extremely frightening.”
The state’s complaint against R House focuses on “performances and simulated sexual activity” in front of kids. It’s based on a video, which took off after posting by a conservative social media outlet, that shows a drag queen wearing only a golden G-string and nipple covers leading a young girl around the restaurant by the hand. The child had a dollar bill in her hand and the performer had several bills sticking out of her bottoms.
DeSantis spoke about the investigation by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation on Wednesday, revealing that state agents had covertly attended shows this month that he deemed inappropriate for children.
“Having kids involved in this is wrong,” he said. “That is not consistent with our law and policy in the state of Florida. And it is a disturbing trend in our society to try to sexualize these young people. That is not the way you protect children. You look out for children.”
The presence of children at drag performances has become a rallying cry for some conservative activists across the country, who argue the issue needs to be treated as child abuse and businesses should be held accountable. DeSantis, widely considered to be a top 2024 presidential contender, has led the nation against what conservative critics call “gender ideology,” including by passing legislation that empowers parents to intervene if they suspect instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom.
Republicans across the country have suggested policies to limit children’s attendance at drag events or remove children from their parents if they bring them to drag shows. Even drag events that are advertised as “family-friendly,” like book reading for kids by drag performers, have been targeted by white supremacists accusing the performers of pedophilia.
“The nature of the performances described above, particularly when conducted in the presence of young children, corrupts the public morals and outrages the sense of public decency,” the state complaint against R House states.
Some South Florida drag performers told the Herald they saw this complaint against R House as the latest salvo in what has become part of the rhetoric of many conservative politicians. In Florida, there have been a series of state efforts aimed at the queer community, including recent efforts from Florida’s Department of Health to restrict gender-affirming care for trans Floridians.
They said focusing on the issue of a child occasionally attending daytime drag shows held at restaurants without age limits is a smokescreen from the real intent of the complaint, which they believe is to harass Florida’s queer community.
“That’s not really the point here. The point is that he (DeSantis) was sending in people to specifically target this place and target drag queens and target queer culture and try to make this seem pedophilic,” said a South Florida drag performer, who asked for anonymity to avoid harassment on social media.
Most drag shows are held in bars at night, where children aren’t allowed. But drag brunches, an often-boozy daytime affair held at restaurants, occupy a gray area.
“Why you’re bringing your kid to that, I don’t really get it. It’s the parent’s decision,” said the South Florida drag performer.
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