“Thankfully, it was safe for us to open,” Stedman continued. It’s the longest we’ve been closed during any hurricane. “Of course, to be closed this many days is always a financial hit to any business. Loss of business was significant,” said Joel Stedman, a partner at Twist. Twist on Washington Avenue, which recently celebrated its 24th anniversary, was the first and only LGBT venue to open Tuesday. Gay establishments on South Beach - including Twist, Score, Hotel Gaythering and Molto - were closed for days, leaving their loyal patrons jonesing for a drink and a good time. (Photo by Jose Cassola)īy Jose Hurricane Irma uprooted trees, flooded Brickell and left millions of South Floridians without power, cabin fever started to sink in for members of the Miami LGBT community. Twist was open for business on Tuesday, following five days of closure due to Hurricane Irma. Gay Porn Star Arrested For Role In Jan.Not even Wilma or Katrina closed clubs Score and Twist for so long.Miss Richfield On Her Lips, Her Musical Saw, And Why 1981.Danica Roem Explains Why She's Running for the Virginia Senate.Even After Grindr Changed Its Data Policy, Users Are Still Being Outed.Randy Rainbow On His Life, Amazing Career, And Grandmother.The Secret (and Spectacle) of Alyssa Edwards.Editor's Pick: David Foster & Katherine McPhee At The Birchmere.School District Demands Yearbook Photos of "Don't Say Gay" Protests Be Censored.Montana man will not be listed as sex offender for 1994 conviction for consensual gay sex “It’s really difficult for us and heart-wrenching … I mean it just makes me … really sick to my stomach,” he said. But Donall says the attacks are taking a toll on his staff. This has prompted some conspiracy theorists to complain to Miami Beach City Hall, urging politicians to step in and stop the drag shows.ĭonall claims one city official even asked him to change the drag queens’ artistic expression.Ī spokeswoman for the city told WPLG she wasn’t aware the city had taken any action against the bar. Marjorie Taylor-Greene recently repeated Stanton-King’s claims when she called for the drag queen who interacted with the children at the club (while, in typical fashion for Greene, misstating the club’s location, as well as repeating other erroneous information). She also threatened a transgender activist who appeared on the show - prompting Twitter to suspend her account.īut Donall worries that Stanton-King’s misinformation campaign is going too far, and hurting his business, which was already negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stanton-King has been vocal about her anti-LGBTQ views, equating support for LGBTQ youth who come out as equivalent to pedophilia, railing against her transgender daughter, and even getting into a confrontation with her daughter during an appearance on the Dr. Such rhetoric isn’t new for Stanton-King, a Trump acolyte who was pardoned by the former president for her role in a car theft ring, who has previously spread misinformation on various topics on social media. Stanton-King has argued that city officials must take action to keep drag queen away from children, adding: “I’m anti-sexual exploitation of children.” See also: Virginia Republican says drag queens reading books to children is “child abuse” School District Demands Yearbook Photos of “Don’t Say Gay” Protests Be Censored She shared the video on Instagram with her nearly 300,000 followers, including footage of a confrontation she had with a Palace employee, during which she said: “I feel offended and disrespected by being a survivor of sexual abuse!” “These people have children in a drag show,” she said in a video she shot. However, Angela Stanton-King, a former Republican congressional candidate, conservative activist, and supporter of the QAnon conspiracy movement, claimed that she went to the Palace earlier this year and saw the children interacting with the drag queen. “I mean, they were posing with a Madonna show.” “It was all innocent fun for the girls,” Donall told Miami-based ABC affiliate WPLG.
The children, following the drag queen’s example, began picking up dollar bills from the floor that were dropped by customers as “tips” for the drag queen. Two young girls, whose parents had brought them to the bar, got permission to interact with the drag queens and began prancing and voguing on stage alongside a drag queen. The incident that sparked the conservative outrage was a drag show where a performer was doing a routine dedicated to Madonna.