An Oregon bar is set to have a child drag queen perform this weekend.
Old Nick’s Pub in Eugene, Oregon, will host an event on Sunday, October 23, featuring an 11-year-old child drag performer called Vanellope.
“Are you excited for Drag queen story time brunch this Sunday morning!? Well, lets [sic] meet our performers! Vanellope is here to show you what a 11 year old drag queen can do,” the pub wrote in a Facebook post advertising the event.
“With all the charm and sweetness of a bowl of sugary cereal, Vanellope is here to brighten up your morning with all her drag talent,” the post adds.
The event is open to all ages and is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This is not the first time Old Nick’s Pub has hosted Vanellope. She is seen in several Facebook videos posted to what appears to be her mother’s page dancing in drag at what seems to be the same pub as people in the crowd hand her tips.
The pub also hosts Drag Queen Story Hour events featuring Vanellope, as well as drag burlesque events with adult drag queens that do not include the young performer.
A Facebook user named Sunshine Ray MacPherson, who appears dressed in drag with Vanellope in several of her own posts, posted a comment saying that critics will “have to come through ME her MOTHER,” as well as a “horde of queens” and the LGBTQ community.
Old Nick’s Pub eventually restricted comments on the Facebook post after it attracted criticism.
The pub accused critics of sexualizing the child performer and remarked in one Facebook comment, “it all boils down to fundamental misogyny.”
On Tuesday, Old Nick’s Pub said in another Facebook post that Vanellope is being “targeted by a hate campaign” and urged patrons to “come pack the house” on Sunday in support.
“This isn’t our first rodeo with hate,” the pub wrote. “Our space receives constant letters from bigoted religious organizations who call us all sorts of weird names.”
“We think she’s gonna be a star on the big screen someday, so if you can come pack the house on Sunday and show her how loved and supported she is, we will force the darkness out once again with our light,” Old Nick’s Pub said.
The pub said it will have extra security on hand for the event and that the Eugene Police Department has already been alerted.
Old Nick’s Pub did not respond to a request for comment.
This particular bar is not the first one to spark outrage over mixing children and drag performances.
In June, shocking footage from a gay bar in Dallas showed small children dancing and handing tips to scantily-clad drag queens who could be seen gyrating.
Back in 2018, another 11-year-old drag performer known as “Desmond is Amazing” performed at night at a gay bar in New York City for tips, sparking hundreds of complaints to Child Protective Services.
Lawmakers in several states including Florida, Arizona, and Texas have proposed banning children from certain drag shows.
