A video and a photo have surfaced that, in separate incidents, show two Republicans in drag – both of whom are advocating a ban on drag shows, triggering a strong pushback from the LGBTQ community.
Video shows Texas lawmaker trying to outlaw drag – in drag
A video has surfaced of a Republican lawmaker who authored a bill banning drag shows in Texas, appearing in drag, wearing a black dress and red eye mask. In the video, he appears to be skipping, running, and dancing in a park, the Huff Post reported.
The video shows Texas state Rep. Nate Schatzline frolicking in women’s attire as the song “Sexy Lady” by Javi Mula plays, BuzzFeed News reported.
A user on Twitter by the handle of Michelle, @Living BlueTX, posted a tweet that featured the video and wrote: “Nate Schatzline has made his entire personality attacking the LGBTQ community, trans especially children, and vowed to ban drag shows in Texas. Here is Nate… in drag.”
Texas Rep. says it was a school theater joke
Texas rep Nate Schatzline confirmed on Twitter that he was the person shown in the video wearing a mini-dress, which named him in the credits as playing the role of “The Virgin.” However, he says it was a joke for a high school project that he appeared in with three other young men in drag.
“Y’all really going crazy over me wearing a dress as a joke back in school for a theatre project?” Schatzline tweeted. “Yah, that’s not a sexually explicit drag show… lol y’all will twist ANYTHING.”
“Michelle, please find something better to do than look up old videos from when people were in school,” Schatzline added.
Rep. says bill is to protect children from sexually explicit drag shows
Schatzline’s bill, HB 1266, seeks to redefine a venue that hosts a “drag performance” and “authorizes on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverages” as a “sexually oriented business,” according to the HuffPost.
“A response to media posting a class project from my teenage years. Sometimes you just gotta laugh,” Schatzline wrote in a later tweet. “Media wants to distract us from adults who act in sexually suggestive ways in front of kids. We’re not backing down against those that want to rob a child’s innocence!”
Photo appears to show Tennessee’s governor in drag
Days before Schatzline’s video surfaced, a photo came to light on Reddit appearing to show Tennessee’s Republican governor Bill Lee wearing a wig, cheerleader skirt, and a pearl necklace.
Lee has not confirmed or denied the photo, which was allegedly taken from his 1977 Franklin High School yearbook captioned “Hard Luck Woman.”
The photo circulated a few days after Tennessee’s legislature sent HB 9, the state’s drag ban, to Lee’s desk.
Lee is expected to sign the ban, as well as another restriction on gender-affirming care for minors, into law as early as this week.
“The bill specifically protects children from obscene, sexualized entertainment, and any attempt to conflate this serious issue with lighthearted school traditions is dishonest and disrespectful to Tennessee families,’ press secretary Jade Byers told Daily Mail.
