Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis‘ Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) on Tuesday filed a complaint against a Miami bar that offers “sexually explicit” drag shows to children.
Videos from the R House bar went viral earlier this month, showing sexualized drag queens entertaining young children. In one video posted by the popular account Libs of TikTok, a young girl is walking hand-in-hand with a drag queen in high heels and a thong with dollar bills hanging out. The performer also has exposed breasts with pasties.
WARNING: Sexual content
“Wholesome, innocent, beautiful family-friendly entertainment” pic.twitter.com/feUaos0k2g
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 3, 2022
“They actually … had a children’s menu on their food services and you think to yourself, you know, give me a break what’s going on?” DeSantis said, as first reported by Breitbart News. “So [DBPR investigators] looked under Florida law and were able to initiate this procedure that would basically take away the liquor license for that.”
DeSantis added that investigators identified “sexually explicit drag shows.”
Breitbart noted that the R House could lose its liquor license, which could effectively put the bar out of business. The venue has 21 days from Tuesday to respond to the complaint.
“We are aware of the complaint and are currently working with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, through our attorney, to rectify the situation,” the venue confirmed, the New York Post reported. “We are hopeful that Gov. DeSantis, a vociferous supporter and champion of Florida’s hospitality industry and small businesses, will see this as what it is, a misunderstanding, and that the matter will be resolved positively and promptly.”
“I’m sensitive to this, I’ve got a five-, a four-, and a two-year-old, my wife and I back home, and we get our money’s worth out of that. Being a parent is the most important thing we do,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Wednesday (see below). “It’s also very challenging enough as it is. And so I think parents, particularly this time in society’s history, should be able to have their kids go to kindergarten, watch cartoons, just be kids, without having some agenda shoved down their throats all the time.”
“And that’s what we’re fighting for,” the governor continued. “That’s what we’re fighting for. And that’s why we, you know, those agencies are moving forward with that.”
“People have different views about what they want to do as adults,” DeSantis added. “But it used to be, the kids are off limits, no one wanted to bring the kids into any of this stuff. And we’ve got to get back to that. And I can tell you in Florida, we are going to make sure that that happens.”
The Republican further slammed venues across the country for having children involved in sexually explicit drag performances.
“We said wait a minute, having kids involved in this is wrong,” DeSantis asserted. “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,” he added. “That is not the way you look out for our children. You protect children. You do not expose them to things that are inappropriate.”
DeSantis’ wife, Casey, spoke on the issue, too, tweeting on Wednesday, “Speaking on behalf of A LOT of moms across the state, we do not want our children exposed to inappropriate sexualized content. Full stop.”
Speaking on behalf of A LOT of moms across the state, we do not want our children exposed to inappropriate sexualized content. Full stop.
— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) July 27, 2022
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