A Belfast drag queen says protesters who spoke out against an event on Sunday will not put him off.
Matt Cavan, also known as Cherrie Ontop, attended a children's storytelling event at The MAC at the weekend. A group of protesters against the event gathered outside the venue. The group, Parents Against Grooming, held banners which read: "Hands off our children".
The 33-year-old, who is originally form Carrickfergus but lives in East Belfast, told Belfast Live that he has also received death threats in the last number of weeks. He has been told to "leave kids alone".
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"I have been doing drag for 11 years and I have went through many different names but as a professional drag queen, it's always been Cherrie Ontop," Matt added.
"I had done a drag queen story time in the Holywood Arches as part of the Eastside Arts Festival around seven years ago. From that, Young at Art got in touch, which is a Belfast-based children's arts festival. They asked me if I would partake in the festival and that's when the relationship began there.
"It was Young at Art who organised the event at The MAC on Sunday. It was a ticket only, private event and they sold out the day they went on sale. I had a baby there who was eight months old, and right up to a child who was 11.
"The stories that I am reading are all about being individual and being different, and that it is ok to be different. We do songs and dances and play games too. The event is never just me and the children, their accompanying adults are there and are highly encouraged to partake in the event too.
"I have been the target of abuse for the last few weeks. I have been getting death threats and have had to get the police involved. I was called a paedophile online."
Matt says he will not be stopping his drag act with Cherrie Ontop, and will not allow those against what he loves to do, stop him from doing it.
"I have obviously ruffled some feathers," Matt said.
"It's made me realise how important this is, because if it wasn't, then it wouldn't have ruffled feathers. I want to make Northern Ireland a better society for young people. A better society that I grew up in where I was terrified that I was gay. I was terrified that I maybe wanted to wear a dress and still be a boy.
"The books that I choose are all about acceptance and equality and diversity. They are books about what different families look like - you can have two mums or two dads, and you might not have either.
"People think that I was trying to brainwash children. I don't really understand that because for me, being a gay person is not a choice, and it is nothing that can be forced upon you."
Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long took to Twitter to show her support for Cherrie Ontop.
She said: "People hating on drag queens reading stories to kids have little to do. As a kid, I recall annual panto where the principal boy was a girl and the panto dame was a man and no-one felt the need to hold an exorcism at the theatre. #NoPlaceForHate "
Police told Belfast Live that they were aware of a planned protest in the Exchange Street area of Belfast on Sunday, July 31 and were in attendance to "ensure everyone’s safety".
A PSNI spokesperson said: "Officers remain in the area and monitored the protest. No offences were detected, however police subsequently received a report of a hate incident in the area."
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