Lizzo performs with drag queens in TN, which tried to ban drag shows

Many of us are watching in horror as parts of the USA are attempting to reset their legislation back several decades. States are ripping away advancements that have been made for trans rights, which is bad enough, but their reasoning is mind boggling. Florida, Arkansas, Idaho and Indiana claim children must be shielded from any sort of exposure to trans people and drag queens. Even though most of the sex offenders we read about are cis white men employed as public servants, this is the narrative they’re trying to push. Tennessee is the latest state trying to muscle through a ridiculous law that would ban drag performers from performing in public spaces. The bill restricts “adult cabaret performers” so it includes topless, go-go and exotic dancers, but it has “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, or similar entertainers,” in the language of the bill. Fortunately, a judge has currently paused the bill for being “overly broad,” but these hateful people are winning and need to be stopped, not just paused.

Enter Lizzo. Lizzo had a tour stop in Knoxville, TN. When the bill was announced, her fans flooded her social with calls to cancel the performance and to boycott Tennessee. Lizzo had another idea. The show went on as scheduled, but Lizzo added drag dancers as her backup line to the performance. Instead of boycotting, which she respects, she decided to scream their message from the rooftops, which is exactly what she did, microphone in hand.

Drag performers will always have a place on Lizzo’s stage, the “Juice” artist declared during her Friday show at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Grammy winner took the stage for the second half of The Special Tour, and brought out drag performers like Aquaria, Kandy Muse and Vanessa Vanji, per social media posts of the concert.

“In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee,’ ‘Don’t go to Tennessee,’” Lizzo said during a pause in her set. “Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most?”

“Why would I not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate drag entertainers and celebrate our differences?”

Lizzo’s speech was met with applause from the crowd. She thanked the people in Tennessee for “standing up for your rights, protecting each other and holding the people accountable who should be protecting us.”

In an Instagram comment, Aquaria wrote of being included in the performance, “Thank you so much for the platform for me and the drag race girls and especially for uplifting the queens on Tennessee! Those ladies are all so strong and brave and I know tonight was definitely the best of a tricky situation for everyone. Thanks for shedding light for our friends who definitely need our hand these days. We appreciate it.”

[From Yahoo]

I absolutely love Lizzo’s response, both having the queens perform and her comments on stage. Boycotts are and always have been effective and I support them. But they do hurt everyone in those states, including those already being affected by the barbaric legislation proposed. So Lizzo marching out on stage with a fan of drag queens behind her is a magnificent way to support the LGBTQ+ community. I hope everyone saw the clips too. Those in the LGBTQ+ community, the allies wondering how to help, the backwards-minded politicians pushing this ridiculous bill, the children being deprived the beauty of drag and their parents who may or may not support it. I hope this went wide.

I am sick over these drag bills and gender reassignment legislation being proposed and pushed across the country. It’s like we’ve learned nothing. Rather than accepting when they don’t understand something, Republicans are once again resorting to bans. Because repression always works, right? Thank goodness for people like Lizzo who refuse to let the light be turned out on issues like this.

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