‘Drag Isn’t Dangerous: Live Telethon’ (Screenshot/YouTube)
Into the third hour of “Drag Isn’t Dangerous,” a brief film makes the point that there has been article after article about children molested by church clergy and counselors, yet not a single bill has been proposed tackling that real issue. Then there are drag queens. Drag queens have never harmed a child, and there are no articles implying that they have. Yet … yet … state after state, bill after bill are going after drag queens.
With this telethon event, drag queens and all that they have inspired, have sent the message: They are not going to take this anymore. Clips of rightwing pundits and commentators were presented and the ignorant hatred expressed in each clip is both at once chilling, and pathetic.
The message of hate is juxtaposed with segments like one featuring “RuPaul Drag Race” alum Nina West. West told the story about her adventures doing storybook hours at Columbus, Ohio, libraries for children. It should be pointed out that the Nina West brand is one of classiness and kindness. She moved her popular book readings onto Instagram. The first hour where she did so was wonderful.
The second hour was not.
The audience turned “dark, terrifying and threatening.” Then it all got very personal. People showed up at his house where he was broadcasting and blew eardrum breaking airhorns outside his windows. They then started a campaign of harassment and doxing, targeting him, his parents and his sister. Signs appeared in his yard accusing him of being a groomer.
Last December he embarked on a Drag Christmas tour. The tour encountered protesters, bomb threats and required police escorts.
Hosted by Justin Martindale and Peppermint with a co-location hosted by Alaska and Adam Shankman, the telethon team declared a goal target of $250,000 for the evening. The evening was filled with performances from some of the drag community’s best. Kicking off the evening were songs by Trixie Mattel and Alaska. The online crowd was gobsmacked with exclamations like “legends!” , “fierce!” “That voice!”.
The telethon was a recreation of the traditional telethon style with a phonebank of drag celebrities womaning the phones. Instead of the phone banks of years gone by the receptionists were not the first point of entry to make donations. In this modern version, donors first register their donation on the GoFundMe application and then are connected to the celebrity to receive thanks and conversation. Phone bank stars included Candis Cayne, Jinkx Monsoon, Ginger Minj, Laganja Estranja Trinity the Tuck, Monet X Change and Queer Eye OG Jai Rodriguez.
As of 4:30 p.m., $55,000 had been raised.
Celebrity cameos and interviews were generously sprinkled through the broadcast. Many of them expressed gratitude and awe for the talents and artistic contributions of drag. Still others were downright angry. “I will f*ck anyone who messes with you,” Charlize Theron declared.
“Drag isn’t dangerous, but Leslie Jones IS!” Leslie Jones fumed.
Sarah Silverman also did not mince words. “It is an invented ‘problem’. It creates a REAL problem for the marginalized. I would trust RuPaul before any of you (Republican) hate mongers.” To the drag community, she declared, “If they come for you, they will have to come through me first.”
“Lawmakers are terrified of how bright we are shining,” Adam Lambert stated affirmingly.
As of 4:50 p.m. $100,000 had been raised.
Donors were interviewed through the phonebank. Jai Rodriguez had an impromptu conversation with a young woman who had come out as queer that day. Even though her experience has been “tough”, she wanted to celebrate her landmark day by donating.
Michele Visage gave RuPaul visibility and spoke from her heart. “I wish I could say that I am glad to be here,” she started. “I am appalled I have to be at something called ‘Drag Isn’t Dangerous.’ Imagine a world where dancers are told they can’t dance; imagine a world where artists are told they cannot take paint to canvas…because it is ‘bad for children.’ That is what is happening to drag right now.”
As of 5:40 p.m., $205,000 had been raised. Jinx Monsson whipped out her own checkbook and wrote a check for $10,000.
Other celebrities added perspective to the issue. Ocean Kelly stated, “They want us to stay quiet. Watching a drag queen won’t make a child queer. If a child is queer, it is because they are … queer.”
Billy Eichner discussed the historical use of scapegoats as distractions. “It is not new, but it is urgent and dangerous,” he warned. “We need to be relentless and loud,” he instructed.
Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden demonstrated her queer chops by publicly outing her entire family. “All my children are queer,” she declared. “One is nonbinary, one is gay. My first boyfriend was gay and my conservative Naval Officer dad loved him.” Of the drag controversy she said, “Why are we having to advocate for creativity and imagination? It is so fear-based. We know what love is.”
As of 7:38 p.m., half a million dollars had been raised.
The movement has started and this first outing is not yet over. Recording of it will stay online for 48 hours after it concludes.
Go here for tickets and then receive you email with the telethon link: https://www.moment.co/dangerous/dragisntdangerous-drag-isnt-dangerous-live
As for the end of the Telethon, Ginger Minge show stopped with the classic “I Am What I Am” from “La Cage.”
I don’t want praise I don’t want pity
I bang my own drum
Some think it’s noise I think it’s pretty
And so what if I love each sparkle and each bangle
Why not try to see things from a different angle
Your life is a sham til you can shout out
I am what I amI am what I am
And what I am needs no excuses
I deal my own deck
Sometimes the ace sometimes the deuces
It’s my life that I want to have a little pride in
My life and it’s not a place I have to hide in
Life’s not worth a danm til you can shout out
I am what I am
Rob Watson is the host of the popular Hollywood-based radio/podcast show RATED LGBT RADIO. He is an established LGBTQ columnist and blogger having written for many top online publications including The Los Angeles Blade, The Washington Blade, Parents Magazine, the Huffington Post, LGBTQ Nation, Gay Star News, the New Civil Rights Movement and more.
He served as Executive Editor for The Good Man Project, has appeared on MSNBC and been quoted in Business Week and Forbes Magazine. He is CEO of Watson Writes, a marketing communications agency, and can be reached at robertgwatsonjr7@gmail.com.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com
