The administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) moved to revoke the liquor license of a Florida venue that hosted a “sexually explicit” drag show that was open to children, according to a complaint filed Friday.
The Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation, a performance art center, had hosted a performance of “A Drag Queen Christmas” on December 28, an event which was advertised as being open to “all ages” despite warnings from the state of Florida about restricting attendance if the performance was sexually explicit.
After the show, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation filed an administrative complaint to revoke the venue’s liquor license after determining that the performance was explicit and that there were children present.
“Governor DeSantis stands to protect the innocence of children, and the governor always follows through when he says he will do something,” DeSantis Press Secretary Bryan Griffin said in a statement to Florida’s Voice News.
The complaint said that the theater “promoted the Show using targeted, Christmas-themed promotional materials that did not provide notice as to the sexually explicit nature of the show’s performance or other content.”
“Rather than call attention to the Show’s sexually explicit content or acknowledge that it might not be appropriate for children, Respondent’s promotional material unequivocally stated ‘all ages welcome,’” the complaint continues.
According to the officials, the show’s explicit content included: exposing prosthetic breasts and female genitalia, exposing the buttocks of performers, simulated masturbation, and sexually explicit children’s Christmas songs like “Screwdolph the Red-Nippled Reindeer.”
The complaint said that the performance violated several Florida statutes, leading the agency to move to revoke the liquor license. The complaint follows an investigation by Florida into several drag performances, including one in Fort Lauderdale.
Republicans in other states have also moved to prohibit children from being exposed to sexually explicit drag shows. Earlier this week, a bill intended to prevent children from attending such performances advanced in the Tennessee state Senate.
The proposal was introduced by Republican state Sen. Jack Johnson, who told The Daily Wire in December that he is “cautiously optimistic” that it would pass.
“I think we would all agree that some of the video we have seen recently of some of these drag shows that were quote-unquote family-friendly were anything but that. And If I had attended one of those with my kids I would have been mortified and I would have wanted someone to be prosecuted for engaging in that kind of entertainment in front of my kids,” Johnson said.