(Photo from The Plaza Live’s Facebook)
ORLANDO | The Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation agreed to pay the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations a fine of $5,000 as part of its settlement for allowing children to attend “A Drag Queen Christmas” at The Plaza Live in Orlando on Dec. 28, 2022.
According to WKMG News 6, a consent order released Nov. 30 states that the venue also agreed not to allow anyone under 18 years of age into any performance “which contains, depicts, or simulates any activities” that violate the state’s obscenity laws.
The 2022 holiday-themed drag show was targeted by the FLDBPR last year because of what the state agency called material of “a sexual nature” that was not “appropriate for minors.” The agency sent a letter to The Plaza Live at the time advising that there are “strict penalties for licensees who allow minors to attend these drag shows at their licensed premises.”
According to WKMG, the agency’s investigation discovered that three underage attendees were at the Orlando show, which complaints by the state said contained simulations of “sexual activity,” sexualized adaptations of popular Christmas songs, exposed buttocks, prosthetic genitals and a performer possibly simulating an abortion on stage.
The drag show called into question had previously played at The Plaza Live for the previous eight years without incident.
