The Supreme Court as composed June 30, 2022 to present. Front row, left to right: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Back row, left to right: Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Photo Credit: Fred Schilling, The Supreme Court of the U.S.)
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Feb. 24 to hear a case challenging Tennessee’s law restricting drag performances, which was enacted by Republican state lawmakers in 2023.
The Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act forbids “adult-oriented performances” that take place in public or where they may be seen by minors. Legislators specified the legislation was meant to target drag shows.
A judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee ruled that the law was “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” allowing drag performances to continue in parts of the state. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision in July, however, ruling that the theater company that filed the complaint lacked standing to sue.
President Donald Trump said that his decision to name himself chair of the Kennedy Center shortly into his second term came at least partially in response to the iconic performing arts center’s history of hosting drag shows, which he called “anti-American propaganda.”
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