Drag Race producers slam the rise of anti-drag legislation: “We must take them seriously”

World of Wonder bosses have condemned the rise of anti-drag bills in a new interview.

Over the last few months, states throughout the US have introduced legislation targeting drag entertainers and their beloved performances.

On 2 March, Tennessee became the first state to pass a law banning public drag shows.

While a federal judge temporarily blocked the archaic law on 31 March, the rise in anti-drag rhetoric and legislation shows no signs of slowing down.

In response to the archaic anti-drag bans, LGBTQ+ activists and entertainment industry professionals have used their platforms to fight against hate – including World of Wonder bosses Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.

In a recent interview with Variety, the producers behind RuPaul’s Drag Race described the horrific bills as a “threat” that needs to be taken seriously.

“It’s been going on, and it’s orchestrated by a minority. They have been successful in these hideous laws,” Barbato told the publication.

“That same minority is threatening the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community. They are a threat, and we must take them seriously.”

As a way to push back against Republican lawmakers, the two creatives partnered up with ACLU to create the Drag Defense Fund.

 

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“Donating to the ACLU is important because these battles need to be fought, in addition to social media, in the courts, which is where the laws can be repealed – or even better, not passed in the first place,” Bailey explained.

Lastly, Bailey shined a light on the terrifying bigger picture regarding these various anti-drag bills.

“It is against trans people. It’s also against books. It has been bubbling under for years,” Bailey continued.

“We may think that Trump is no longer in office, but the wave he rode is part of this continuing wave, which is this fear of the future.”

Bailey and Barbato’s recent comments come a few weeks after RuPaul slammed the anti-drag bills across Drag Race’s social media channels.

In an inspiring video, the Emmy-winning talent said the right-wing is “distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school.

“But, we know bullies are incompetent at solving real issues. They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective. They think our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness, but they’re wrong. That is our strength.”

Towards the end of the video, Mama Ru classified drag queens as the “marines of the queer movement” before urging American fans to “register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government”.

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