Texas university's drag show ban blocked by appeals court
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an Aug. 18 ruling said a district court erred in rejecting a request for a preliminary injunction that would prevent West Texas A&M University, near Amarillo, Texas, from enforcing its ban while a lawsuit works its way through the courts.
Spectrum WT, a LGBTQ student group at the school, was organizing a March 2023 drag show to raise funds for The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization that serves LGBTQ youth. University President Walter Wendler canceled the show days before the performance, saying a 'harmless drag show' was 'not possible,' in a university-wide letter Wendler also posted on his website.
Wendler wrote that the fundraiser was for a 'noble cause' but that drag shows 'stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood.'
He also compared drag performances to blackface performances, saying he would similarly not support such events on campus 'even if told the performance is a form of free speech or intended as humor."
The plaintiffs, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), sued Wendler and other school officials and requested a preliminary injunction to prevent the school from stopping such performances while litigation continued. A district court denied that request in September 2023.
But the appeals court disagreed in a 2-1 decision and granted the preliminary injunction, saying the plaintiffs showed a 'substantial threat of irreparable harm to their First Amendment rights absent an injunction against President Wendler.'
Judge James C. Ho dissented, saying that 'like blackface performances, drag shows violate the university's fundamental mission to ensure a welcoming educational environment for all.'
'Tellingly – and quite understandably – the majority does not contend that West Texas A&M would be required to allow a student group to put on a blackface performance,' Ho wrote. 'The result should not be different here just because drag shows find favor in certain circles.'
FIRE applauded the decision, which it said 'restored the First Amendment' at the school.
'This is a victory not just for Spectrum WT, but for any public university students at risk of being silenced by campus censors,' FIRE Supervising Senior Attorney JT Morris said.
A West Texas A&M spokesperson said the university does not comment on pending litigation.
BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.
USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
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