Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty; Barbra Seville/Facebook
A candidate for Arizona governor is under scrutiny after a drag queen accused her political platform of being hypocritical.
Kari Lake, the Trump-backed candidate currently leading polls in her GOP primary race, has taken a strong stance against drag performers amid conservative lawmakers' calls to ban drag anywhere minors are present.
One day after Lake’s anti-drag tweet gained traction, Richard Stevens — better known as Phoenix drag queen Barbra Seville —shared a post on Facebookclaiming the gubernatorial candidate was once an avid supporter of the profession.
“Now that [Lake] has waded in to the war on drag queens, know she is a complete hypocrite,” Stevens wrote. “I’ve performed for Kari’s birthday, I’ve performed in her home (with children present) and I’ve performed for her at some of the seediest bars in Phoenix.”
Alongside Stevens' post, he shared images that depict their apparent friendship, including screenshots of their interactions and a photo of Lake posing with him at a drag show.
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On Sunday, Lake’s campaign teamrespondedto Stevens' claims, discrediting him as “radicalized” and someone whose interests serve Katie Hobbs, the current Democratic frontrunner for Arizona governor.
“Like most sane people, Kari Lake is very much opposed to grown men or women dancing provocatively for children, especially at the expense of the taxpayer,” the statement reads. “Why would anyone be opposed to this?”
“This shouldn’t be controversial, but for some very nefarious reasons, the Media and Leftist Activists are choosing this hill to die on,” it continues, later adding: “Why is the Media fighting so hard to defend the Grooming of our Children?”
Stevens' rebuttal — in an interview withAZcentral.com— is his alleged recollection of Lake allowing her own daughter to attend a drag performance, and her dismissal of the fact that family-friendly drag shows are not hyper-sexualized.
While Lake’s statement did not directly address Stevens' argument that the gubernatorial candidate’s values have shifted throughout her political career, it did denounce media outlets' coverage of politics and threatens defamation lawsuits to anyone who reports Stevens' “lies as truth.”
Lake’s campaign did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional comment about her alleged involvement with drag queens in the past.
In the weeks since Republican lawmakers have latched onto an agenda that targets family-friendly drag performances — often promoting a narrative that drag is inherently explicit — the nation has seen a trickle effect of hatred spilling intoPride Monthevents.
On June 11, members of theProud Boys, a far-right men’s group known for espousing hateful views and instigating violence,stormed a Drag Queen Story Hour eventat a Northern California library, where a drag queen was reading to children, parents and members of the community.
The same weekend,31 white nationalists were arrestedin riot gear outside an Idaho Pride celebration and accused of planning to overtake the event.
Additional acts of hate have beendocumented around the nationthis month, as safe places for LGBTQ+ people to gather are continually being identified as targets among right-wing groups.
source: people.com
