Gov. Ron DeSantis Drags On About Another “Sexually Explicit” Show

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis filed a complaint on Friday against the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation for hosting a “sexually explicit” drag show.

The complaint claims that the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation violated six state statutes, moving to strip the foundation of its liquor license after it allowed for an individual to “commit lewd or lascivious exhibition” in the presence of those under 16 years old. Florida’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation filed the complaint.

On December 28, the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation hosted “A Drag Queen Christmas,” event “using targeted, Christmas-themed promotional materials that did not provide notice as to the sexually explicit nature of the Show’s performances or other content,” the complaint says.

“Rather than call attention to the Show’s sexually explicit content or acknowledge that it might not be appropriate for children,” the complaint reads, the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation’s “promotional materials unequivocally stated ‘[a]ll ages welcome.’

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation said that it sent a letter to the foundation warning prior to the show, explaining “[s]exually explicit drag show performances constitute public nuisances, lewd activity, and disorderly conduct when minors are in attendance” and that if the foundation did not ensure that minors were not allowed into the event, its license might be revoked, among other penalties.

One Florida statute says that “lewd or lascivious exhibition” includes “intentionally expos[ing] the genitals in a lewd or lascivious manner” or “intentionally commit[ing] … any simulation of sexual activity”; the complaint states that the show infringed such parameters—including performers showing their genitals and “prosthetic female breasts”—but nevertheless, the venue allowed children to be in the audience. 

Photos of minors as well as the drag performers are included in the complaint.

This is not the first time DeSantis has taken aim at drag performances, and certainly not the first time he has taken aim at the LGBTQ+ community. He filed a complaint against a Miami restaurant that hosted a drag show in front of children in July. He also enacted the “Don’t Say Gay” law, putting restrictions on how gender and sexual identity are discussed in Florida classrooms. He also banned transgender women from playing on women’s sports teams.

In response to the complaint, Florida Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost tweeted: “We’ve got to call this what it is: FASCISM in action. Queer celebration is anything but obscene. We cannot tolerate DeSantis and his attempt to erase our communities. I wholeheartedly condemn this attack and remain in solidarity with our beautiful LGBTQ+ family in Orlando.”

Although he has yet to formally announce his White House run, DeSantis is expected to be former president Donald Trump’s top competitor for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential race.