Texas state authorities have launched an investigation into a Dallas club that hosted a highly publicized drag show that invited children to participate.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced on August 5 that his office would look into potential code violations by the Oaklawn area club Mr. Misster after the club hosted an event titled “Drag the Kids to Pride.”
“Like many Texas parents, I was disturbed by the recent images showing children participating in a drag show in the Dallas area, including one image of a child placing money in a performer’s undergarment,” Hegar noted.
The comptroller serves as the state’s chief financial officer, acting as “tax collector, chief accountant, chief revenue estimator, and chief treasurer for all of state government.”
Through his role as tax collector, Comptroller Hegar’s investigation will examine whether the club must pay the “Sexually Oriented Business Fee” under the Business Code.
The “Drag the Kids to Pride” event in question was held on June 4 at a bar named Mr. Misster in Dallas’ “Gayborhood,” as reported by The Dallas Express.
As adults dressed in drag guided young children down the runway, onlookers cheered and tipped the performers. Decorating the building were signs pronouncing “it’s not gonna lick itself” and “I licked it so it’s mine.”
The event page said that the show would provide “the ultimate family-friendly pride experience.” It asked the potential child attendees, “Do you want to hit the stage with the queens? We have FIVE limited spots for young performers.”
As reported by The Dallas Express, protesters picketed outside during the show.
Mr. Misster explained to The Dallas Express that it “alerted the authorities of all homophobic threats, transphobic remarks, and vile accusations,” and further stated:
“While we welcome everyone, behavior of this sort will not be tolerated in our establishment and any display of hate within our four walls will be handled to the fullest extent by the authorities.”
Mary Elizabeth Castle, the senior policy advisor for Texas Values, told The Dallas Express that they are “very pleased with Comptroller Hegar taking it a step further to see if the show was in violation of the law,” noting that it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to enter sexually oriented businesses.
She said Texas parents “need to be vigilant in guarding their children from these sexually explicit shows and actively support legislation to further protect them.”
Supporters of the show, such as Equality Texas CEO Ricardo Martinez, defended the event, saying, “In a state that has a history of being openly hostile to LGBTQ+ people, drag shows have been creating safe places for our community for nearly a century. … Fear-mongering puts those spaces at risk.” Mr. Martinez did not speak to the direct complaint of opponents … that the concern was about the attendance of children.
If the comptroller decides that Mr. Misster was acting as a sexually oriented business and liable to the fines and regulations imposed by law, it is unclear how far the ripple effects would reach.
The comptroller’s office declined to respond to inquiries from The Dallas Express about whether such a verdict would effectively mean all places where a drag show is held, whether children were in attendance or not, would become similarly liable.