The Republican hypocrisy in this country just hit an all-new low, after GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake recently, and very publicly, implied that drag queens and queer people as a whole are somehow dangerous and threatening to children. Yet come to find out, thanks to a brutal reminder from a local drag queen, the staunch ultra Right-winger has actually attended drag performances with her own children and even hosted a drag party in her own home.
Lake took to both Twitter and Instagram this past Saturday and wrote, “They kicked God out of schools and welcomed the Drag Queens. They took down our Flag and replaced it with a rainbow. They seek to disarm Americans and militarize our Enemies. Let’s bring back the basics: God, Guns & Glory.”
They kicked God out of schools and welcomed the Drag Queens.
They took down our Flag and replaced it with a rainbow.
They seek to disarm Americans and militarize our Enemies.
Let’s bring back the basics:
God, Guns & Glory. 🇺🇸
— Kari Lake for AZ Governor (@KariLake) June 18, 2022
It took precisely no time before Richard Stevens — an entertainer who performs as drag queen Barbra Seville, according to reporting from LGBTQNation — hopped on their own social media and promptly handed Lake’s ass to her, calling her out on her blatant hypocrisy as he revealed that the Republican gubernatorial candidate has actually attended many of his performances. Stevens went on to expose the fact that Lake has even attended a party, with her children, that he performed at and even claimed that Lake has hosted drag events in her own home.
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In his social media posts, Stevens called Lake out as a “complete hypocrite” and even claimed that he and Keri were pretty close friends before she went to the dark side and became an ultra Right-wing politician. The drag performer went on to back up his claims with apparent proof, posting multiple images that showed friendly communications between Stevens and Lake.
Speaking with The Arizona Republic, Stevens said, “She’s friends with drag queens. She’s had her kid in front of a drag queen. I’ve done drag in her home for her friends and family. She’s not threatened by them. She would come to shows constantly. To make me be the bogeyman for political gain, it was just too much.”
“[Lake has] come to my parties and has been asked to leave because door people thought she was too intoxicated to remain on premises,” Stevens wrote on social media.
He also posted an Instagram screenshot from Lake’s personal account that shows the GOP candidate hanging out with Stevens in full drag, with the caption reading, “Half of what I learned about makeup I learned from watching friends like Barbra Seville.”
The Queen of Phoenix drag queens, Barbara Seville, spills the tea all over old friend & Trump-endorsed candidate for Arizona governor, @karilake. #AZGOV pic.twitter.com/KmFFuEzzh4
— Brahm Resnik (@brahmresnik) June 18, 2022
Lake’s campaign has since responded to Stevens’ post, stating, “The event in question was a party at someone else’s house, and the performer was there as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. It wasn’t a drag show, and the issue we’re talking about isn’t adults attending drag shows, either. The issue is activists sexualizing young children, and that’s got to stop.”
Stevens responded, “Everyone knows what’s going on. People needed something else to talk about because the conversation was getting too real about gun control and children being killed in schools, so people want to say ‘Let’s protect kids from drag queens’ instead of protecting kids from gun violence.'”
Read the full report from LGBTQNation here.
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
