An amusement park in the United Kingdom said it would no longer participate in Pride events after children witnessed an explicit drag performance by a drag queen named Crystal.
The owner of Adventure Island in Southend on Sea, Essex, has “humbly” apologized to his loyal customers for hiring the performer that left parents “horrified,” the Daily Mail reported.
In a statement to the outlet, Philip Miller, executive chairman of Adventure Island, said there had been “confusion” as to “what we would allow or not.”
Drag queen simulates sex acts in front of children at an “all ages family-friendly” drag show in Essex, UK pic.twitter.com/XjY8L232ZQ
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“The grinding act was most definitely a nonstarter as we are ostensibly a family park and that is just not family entertainment,” Miller’s statement added.
“Rest assured we will not be rebooking this act or participate in any future PRIDE celebrations it’s just not for us, we tried to be inclusive but it has backfired on us.”
The apology comes after footage of an “all ages family friendly” drag show on Saturday surfaced online.
The video shows Crystal, who performed on the first season of the BBC’s Ru Paul’s Drag Race, scantily clad wearing fishnet tights, a leotard and high heels reportedly “wielding an angle grinder.”
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The drag queen, performing to the tune of the Scissor Sisters’ hit Filthy/Gorgeous, can be seen making pelvic thrusting motions with his hips. According to the Daily Mail, Crystal “ran his hand up and down the angle grinder” then strikes it against his metal plate fixed to his crotch and made sparks fly.
One mother-of-two told the Daily Mail she loved the place, but would not return after seeing the clip.
“I won’t be going back and I won’t be taking my kids there,” she reportedly told the outlet.
“That is a line you don’t cross,” she added. “That tells me everything you need to know about how they value children.”
The drag queen in the video rejected the idea that his performance was inappropriate, telling the outlet, “My act is no different to what you might see on Britain’s Got Talent, from Lady Gaga on MTV, or from a street performer in Covent Garden.”
“This is deemed ‘sexual’ solely because I was performing in drag,'” Crystal added, noting it was his third year booked at the park for its Pride events.