The Los Angeles Zoo recently hosted an “All Ages” drag show, making tickets available for children and even infants in partnership with L.A. Pride.
PragerU‘s Aldo Buttazzoni attended the event to ask parents, zoo administrators, and drag participants why children should be allowed to participate in a sexually charged event.
The conservative nonprofit posted a six-minute video online that was shot at the event, showing what the children saw, including one performer doing a sort of strip tease.
One parent explained to Buttazzoni they thought it would be fun to attend the event with family because they have family members who are in the LGBTQIA community.
“We have lots of nieces and nephews and little cousins,” one family member said. “We’ve been going to pride parades or drag shows. Or events like this are family-friendly. So let everyone be inclusive. Come as you are and be who you are. We love that.”
The video showed one adult and a child walking up to a performer who was on stage and offering the drag queen a dollar as the crowd cheered.
The PragerU correspondent spoke with the performer, a man, who identified himself as “Valora Von Tease.” The performer alluded to the reason why children were invited to the event.
Responding to the question of what he was doing tonight out at the L.A. Zoo, the man said, “Living my life. G-d d— it. It was L.A. Pride. So we just showed up and we just thought we’d give the children a little something to snack on. You know what I’m saying.”
Buttazzoni asked the man to respond to parents who say drag shows are sexually-charged events.
“Nothing was sexually charged about tonight,” the man said as the video cutaway to show him grabbing and playing with his fake breasts. “We were all here having a good time enjoying ourselves.”
He also admitted he regularly participates in a Drag Queen Story Hour at a local bookstore in Pasadena reading to children.
The video also showed segments where drag performers were dancing, interacting with young children, and accepting dollar bills from several others.
Buttazzoni asked a woman who he later identified as the director of equity at the zoo if it was a sexually charged event.
“That’s not the nature of this event,” she told him.
One man who remained unidentified asked the PragerU correspondent what the video they were shooting was for.
“This video is to show drag shows. To show what you guys are doing here. To show what the performers were all about,” Buttazzoni replied. Then he asked the man, “What was the show tonight about?”
“It was our pride night,” the man said.
Then Buttazzoni asked the man if he agreed with the zoo’s director of equity that there was nothing sexual about tonight’s performance. “It’s a family-friendly event,” the man said.
“Do you think that maybe some of the performers fondling themselves and grabbing their genitals or maybe the MC talking about testicles is sexually charged?”
The video shows the man looking uncomfortable and instead of answering the question, repeatedly asking for Buttazzoni’s email information.
“They won’t answer the questions and I think that says a lot about what they think about this,” Buttazzoni noted. “Why is asking a question about the event, more offensive than the event itself?”
“The performers claim that drag is nothing more than celebrating pride and in being who you are. But what did you see them celebrating here?” he asked. “What exactly are they proud of?”
Buttazzoni then listed several things that society has deemed inappropriate for children to consume, including alcohol, porn, and even R-rated movies.
“It’s not bigoted and not homophobic to want to add adult men, twerking in scantily-clad women’s clothing to that list,” he said. “The only reason we haven’t, and get so much pushback when we try, is because they host these events under the banner of gay pride, which they use as a shield to protect themselves from any accountability.”
“Don’t get it wrong,” Buttazzoni added. “This isn’t about gay rights. This isn’t about pride. This is about predatory adults stroking their ego to sexualize children.”
“They know it’s wrong. They know they should be ashamed and we can’t continue to let them do this to our kids,” he said.
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As CBN News has reported, parents, pastors, and even state lawmakers are pushing back against drag shows and drag queen story hours targeting children.
In Tennessee, legislators have introduced a bill that would criminalize the practice of drag queens hosting shows that are child-accessible or aimed directly at kids.
Tennessee Senate Majority leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) filed legislation in late November, SB 0003, that would protect children from being exposed to sexually explicit shows, including drag queen performances on public and private property.
If passed, anyone who “engages in an adult cabaret performance on public property or in a location where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult” could be charged with a felony, which can carry a one to a six-year prison sentence.
If passed, the legislation would go into effect in July 2023.
As CBN News also reported in September, a Tennessee university president canceled drag shows that were previously held on campus, citing “disturbing” content that targeted minors and mocked Christians.
Tennessee Tech University (TTU) frequently hosted drag shows at Backdoor Playhouse theater and advertised them to all ages.
President Phil Oldham issued a statement canceling the shows after a video of a drag performance at the school went viral.
Meanwhile, in July, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) filed a complaint against a Miami bar that hosted “sexually explicit” drag shows geared toward children.
“Having kids involved in this is wrong,” DeSantis said during a press conference at that time. “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 look out for our children.”
“You protect children,” he continued. “You do not expose them to things that are inappropriate.”
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