People are fighting back against the attacks on drag queens and LGBTQ rights by trolling posts about pedophiles with a simple statement: “not a drag queen.”
Conservatives have been waging a war against LGBTQ people and drag performers for over a year. Many of these attacks are based on the inaccurate allegation that LGBTQ people and drag queens are more likely to prey on children.
Republican representatives in multiple states have reacted by proposing laws banning drag performances in public spaces or where children are present. Tennessee recently became the first to pass such legislation. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed it into law days after a photo emerged of him wearing drag in high school.
People have protested the anti-drag and LGBTQ movement in a variety of ways. Some have trolled conservatives who appeared in drag, like Lee. Others have unearthed photos and other content that portrays conservatives who support restricting the rights of LGBTQ people and drag performers as hypocrites. One popular Instagram account has used artificial intelligence (AI) to turn prominent conservatives into drag queens.
Now there’s a new strategy in town. Posts about alleged pedophiles and sex offenders are getting trolled with the comment, “Not a drag queen.” This is similar to the recent trend in which people pointed out that religious leaders are often accused of sex crimes, including against children.
Popular TikToker Michael McWhorter (@tizzyent) recently posted a video captioned, “Let’s play a game called ‘not a drag queen.'” McWhorter’s TikTok is about a top ally of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) who died by suicide in December while he was being investigated for soliciting nude photos from an underaged teen in exchange for Taylor Swift tickets.
@tizzyent Lets play a game called, "Not a Drag Queen"
♬ I'm Coming Out – Diana Ross
“This guy is not a drag queen,” McWhorter said.
Florida’s Republican-dominated legislature recently passed a bill banning children from adult live performances, which is designed to target drag shows.
Another TikToker posted a news story about 32 men being arrested in a child sex sting in Indiana. They included #notadragqueen in the caption. TikToks with this hashtag have over half a million views as of this writing.
There are over 800 Instagram posts that include #notadragqueen. A representative post points out Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House, went to prison for sex crimes against teen boys.
Others reference convictions and allegations of child sex crimes by prominent conservative influencers, pastors, and Republican donors.
The Daily Dot found “not a drag queen” and #notadragqueen used as a caption on posts about child sex crimes on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Some pointed out that the accused individuals aren’t members of the LGBTQ community either.
A Twitter user wrote of a Catholic Archbishop recently being charged with sexual abuse, “NOT a Gay man. NOT a Trans person. NOT a Drag Queen. An Archbishop.”
Reactions to such posts are laced with sarcasm. “Shocked” is a common response.
Others are more frustrated that liberals have let conservatives create a false narrative about drag queens.
“Scream this from the rooftops! Republicans keep accusing liberals of doing everything Republicans are actually doing, but they have no proof and we do!” an Instagram user wrote about a Republican being sentenced to prison for incest and child abuse. “Why aren’t Democrats making more noise where Republican voters will hear them?”
Many people simply want more content exposing pedophiles who are not LGBTQ or drag performers.
“Make this a series,” one person wrote on McWhorter’s TikTok. “It’s content that writes itself and has a bottomless trove of material to pull from.”
