Latest news with #PrideTeaDance
UPI
6 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Drag group promotes artists' rights as Florida AG demands info on Pride event
Participants march down Fifth Avenue at the 2024 NYC Pride March in New York City. A group is promoting artists' rights as Florida's Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier is demanding guest lists, surveillance footage and personal information from people who attended a drag Pride event in Vero Beach on June. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Florida's Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier is demanding guest lists, surveillance footage and personal information from people who attended a drag Pride event in Vero Beach on June 29, according to Scott Simpson, organizer for Qommittee, a national volunteer network defending drag artists' rights. The group says that no laws were violated in the event, and Florida's statewide "drag ban" has been blocked by federal courts. But state officials are "weaponizing existing laws to bully, intimidate, and surveil our community," Simpson said. Simpson's group has publicized Floridians' rights and called for organizing. "This is serious government overreach designed to intimidate drag performers into silence," he said. "They want performers to stop performing. They want venues to stop booking drag shows. They want our community to stop gathering and celebrating who we are. "Going to a drag show should not mean you forfeit your anonymity or land your name in a government database," Simpson said. "We cannot let that happen. Every drag performer and venue in Florida must stay loud, stay proud, and protect themselves while continuing their art." This isn't the first attack on Vero Beach's drag community. Linda Moore, the vice mayor of Vero Beach, is being investigated by Uthmeier for a "Pride Tea Dance" held last month at the Kilted Mermaid, a wine bar she owns in the town on the Atlantic coast. But it's unclear what charges Moore might face and questions remain concerning Uthmeier's legal basis for the investigation. Uthmeier's office cited evidence that the event was promoted as being open to all ages and included sexualized adult performers who "wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children." "In Florida, we don't sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults," Uthmeier said in a statement. But Moore said the bar has hosted it for at least the past five years. "We have the event every year; it's our gay pride event, and it is all ages," Moore said. "It's a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can't stay for the show." Simpson's Qommittee website clarifies drag performers' rights and realities, as well as Florida's laws on drag shows open to all ages versus shows for adults only. It also tells performers how to protect themselves if they're targeted by government officials and to keep performing and keep showing up at drag shows. "This intimidation campaign wants us to self-censor out of fear," Simpson said. "We will not give them that victory."
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Yahoo
Florida AG investigating drag show at bar owned by Vero Beach vice mayor
VERO BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said his office is opening an investigation into a 'sexualized performance advertised to children' that took place in Vero Beach last month. Uthmeier issued a subpoena to Linda Moore, the Vice Mayor of Vero Beach and the owner of the Kilted Mermaid, a beer and wine bar. Florida woman vanishes under 'suspicious' circumstances; car last seen in Tampa On June 29, the bar hosted a 'Pride Tea Dance' featuring drag performances and other entertainment. Uthmeier said there was evidence that during the event, 'sexualized adult performers wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children.' The subpoena is asking Moore to provide the following: Surveillance video recordings Documents identifying camera locations, retention policies, or personnel responsible for maintaining said recordings Employee work schedules showing which employees were working on the dates of June 28 to June 30 Documents identifying anyone who performed or provided entertainment on the premises on June 29 Copies of any guest lists, reservation logs, ticket sales records, entry logs or other documents identifying who attended the performance Documents identifying all individuals responsible for checking identification, verifying age, controlling admission, or allowing entry on June 29 Guidelines in effect on June 29 regarding age verification, admission policies, security screening, and ID checks Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Florida vice mayor faces subpoena over investigation into drag show held at her bar
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a subpoena to Vero Beach Vice Mayor Linda Moore in connection with a state probe into the "Pride Tea Dance" event held at her Kilted Mermaid bar late last month, according to a press release issued by the attorney general's office. The Vero Beach establishment shared a poster on social media ahead of the event that included the phrase "ALL AGES WELCOME." "Florida law protects children from sexualization. There is evidence that at the 'Pride Tea Dance' on June 29, 2025, sexualized adult performers wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children," the press release from the attorney general's office states. The Sunshine State attorney general "issued subpoenas to Moore and Kilted Mermaid seeking" materials such as any surveillance footage, materials pertaining to those who performed at the establishment on June 29, materials regarding event attendees and more, according to the press release. "Moore and Kilted Mermaid are required to produce the necessary documents by August 8, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.," according to the release, which links to a copy of the subpoena. Fox News Digital reached out to the Kilted Mermaid to request a comment from Moore, who co-owns the bar with her husband Rick Norry, but they declined to comment. "We have the event every year; it's our gay pride event, and it is all ages," Moore said, according to NBC News. "It's a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can't stay for the show." Sometimes parents wish to remain, Moore said, according to the outlet, indicating that she has a policy that the initial drag performance will be "really tame"— after the kids are gone performances can get "a little racy," she reportedly said, noting, "there's never nudity at any drag show." Fox News Digital reached out to the Florida attorney general's office, but did not receive a comment by the time of publication. "In Florida, we don't sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults," Uthmeier said, according to the press release. "The Office of Statewide Prosecution opened an investigation into this sexualized performance to determine the extent of the content and exposure to children." The bar is slated to have a "Drag Queen Bingo" event later this month, but social media posts by the Kilted Mermaid describe that event as "18+."
The Hill
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Florida AG investigating restaurant that hosted LGBTQ Pride event
Florida's Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said Tuesday that his office has subpoenaed Linda Moore, the vice mayor of Vero Beach, Fla., in a state investigation into a drag performance that took place last month at a local wine bar Moore owns. In a news release, Uthmeier's office said there is evidence that a 'Pride Tea Dance' held at the Kilted Mermaid on June 29, advertised as an all-ages event, 'featured adult, sexualized performers in front of children, in violation of Florida law.' The subpoena sent to Moore, dated July 8, requests surveillance video, employee work schedules and contracts or invoices that identify which performers were present at the event. The attorney general's office is also asking Moore to produce information related to attendance at the event and copies of the Kilted Mermaid's policies regarding age verification, admission policies, security screening and ID checks. Uthmeier's office did not immediately return a request to clarify which specific Florida law the state is accusing Moore of violating. Neither the news release nor the subpoena specifies which laws she allegedly broke. Florida's 'Protection of Children Act,' which bars children from attending 'adult live performances' featuring sexual or lewd conduct, has been unenforceable since 2023, when a federal judge ruled it likely unconstitutional. The law does not directly reference drag performances, but is widely viewed, including by its primary sponsor, as aimed at them. In May, a federal appeals court panel upheld a lower court decision that described the state's law as overly broad and vaguely written, leaving the injunction barring its enforcement in place while the case continues. In a post on the social platform X, Uthmeier called the ruling 'radical and wrong' and said his office 'will fight aggressively and swiftly to get these bad decisions overturned.' 'I stand by our law that protects kids from drag shows and other sexually explicit adult performances,' he said. Moore, who has owned the Kilted Mermaid for more than a decade, must respond to Uthmeier's subpoena by Aug. 8. She told The Hill in an email, 'The Kilted Mermaid has done nothing wrong, and we are not certain what they are investigating as there is no crime listed on the subpoena.' In an interview Tuesday with NBC News, Moore said the bar has held the same Pride event annually for at least the past five years. 'We have the event every year; it's our gay pride event, and it is all ages,' she said. 'It's a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can't stay for the show.' Photos and videos of the event circulated on social media by conservative activists, including Jennifer Pippin, who leads a local chapter of Moms for Liberty, mischaracterized the event, Moore said. In a Facebook post the day after the event, Pippin wrote that she had reported the event to Uthmeier's office for violating Florida's law restricting 'adult live performances.' She told NBC News that she was unaware the law had been blocked.
UPI
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Florida official under state investigation after hosting LGBTQ event
A protester makes a sign during a protest in San Francisco. Drag performances have because a flash point in culture wars, particularly in Florida where a local official is under investigation for possibly exposing children to a sexualized performance. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo July 22 (UPI) -- A small town elected official in Florida is under investigation by state Attorney General James Uthmeier for hosting a drag show that may have exposed children to a "sexualized performance." Uthmeier announced Tuesday he had subpoenaed Linda Moore, the vice mayor of Vero Beach, over a "Pride Tea Dance" held last month at the Kilted Mermaid, a wine bar she owns in the town on the Atlantic coast. However, it's unclear what charges Moore might face and questions remain concerning Uthmeier's legal basis for the investigation. Uthmeier's office cited evidence that the event was promoted as being open to all ages and included sexualized adult performers who "wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children." "In Florida, we don't sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults," Uthmeier said in a statement. The subpoena demands Moore turn over employee schedules, surveillance videos, contracts with performers, ticket sales records, the bar's age-verification protocols and other documents by Aug. 8. Moore told NBC News that the subpoena did not make sense to her because it did not accuse her of a crime. "We have the event every year; it's our gay pride event, and it is all ages," Moore told the news outlet, adding that the bar has hosted it for at least the past five years. "It's a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can't stay for the show." She said that the performances can be a "little racy" but do not include any nudity. Jennifer Pippin, a member of a local chapter of conservative parents group Moms for Liberty, called attention to the events at the Kilted Mermaid on social media. She alleged that Moore had violated Florida's "Protection of Children Act," which was signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. However, the law has been held up in court as federal judges have suggested it is likely unconstitutional.
