Local complaints have prompted a child-focused charity in New York to ditch a drag event for kids set for next Sunday – and its cancelled drag queen host is not happy.
The Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester, a nonprofit “dedicated to giving children a voice and putting an end to abuse,” announced last week it would not hold its “all-ages,” “drag bingo” fundraiser.
Its scheduled cohost, drag queen “Mrs. Kasha Davis,” in reality a man named Ed Popil, took to a Rochester news station and said the cancellation was giving into “hate.”
Popil described his comments in a phone call to Mary Whittier, the charity’s chief executive officer, when she informed him the event was off.
He told the ABC affiliate, WHAM:
I said on that call, well, then we’re letting hate win. Because pretty much on a daily basis, unfortunately, as a drag artist, as a performer, especially when I do story hour, and most recently I was at a Pride festival, and I brought the kids up and we’re dancing, and then when you look at the comments, the hateful, negative, angry comments were plentiful.
Even after the cancellation, which included a formal, obsequious statement by the nonprofit that apologized to “our LGBTQ+ partners, allies, and supporters,” critics continued to pounce.
“Inclusion of LGBTQ should have NOTHING to do with a non profit whose ‘supposed’ mission is to advocate for our communities most traumatized youth. NOTHING!!,” a New Yorker named Michele Fischette wrote on the group’s Facebook page. “Why is this even a thing? Wildly inappropriate…”
Part of Child Advocacy’s statement read:
While harm was never our intent, we recognize that this decision has impacted the trust of many who believed in our commitment to inclusivity. We are committed to promoting a culture where every person who walks through our doors feels welcomed, valued, respected, and accepted — including members of the LGBTQ+ community. We are listening. We are learning.
Another critic took the nonprofit to task for the statement itself.
“The Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester has issued a response filled with vague language, identity politics, and self-preservation,” wrote Brent Bivona. “But not once did it directly acknowledge the core issue: inviting children to an adult-themed drag fundraiser under the banner of child protection.”
As for the drag queen in question, Ed Popil says what he does is too easily demonized and that he was going to give a performance that “was appropriate for all ages.”
“Drag is an art form,” he told the ABC affiliate. “(It) has a place for everyone, just like music has content that’s available for kids and adults, and in theater and film.”
Popil said he will donate the proceeds from one of his upcoming shows at another venue to the child non profit.
“That’s why I do the work that I do,” he said. “That’s why I read books to kids. That’s why we encourage the messages of shining your light, being yourself, and being kind to others.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
