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RuPaul, Cyndi Lauper, B-52s respond to 'drag ban,' anti-LGBT legislation

RuPaul, seen here with his award for Outstanding Competition Program for "RuPaul's Drag Race" at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2019, spoke out over "drag bans." File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI
1 of 6 | RuPaul, seen here with his award for Outstanding Competition Program for "RuPaul's Drag Race" at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2019, spoke out over "drag bans." File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI | License Photo

March 9 (UPI) -- RuPaul and several other artists are condemning the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that has been sponsored by members of the GOP.

On his social media platforms, RuPaul, the Emmy award-winning creator and host of VH1's long-running RuPaul's Drag Race condemns what he refers to as "stunt queens," who are distracting the public from their inability to provide solutions to the problems they were elected to resolve.

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"We know that bullies are incompetent at resolving real issues," he said. "They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective. "They think our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they're wrong, because that is our strength."

RuPaul concluded by saying "a social media post has never been as powerful as a registered vote."

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On March 3, Tennessee governor Bill Lee signed a law restricting adult cabaret performances on public property, including "where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult."

Musicians and other celebrities who have actively supported the LGBT+ community in the past spoke up, saying the bans were unfair at best and at worse, could set dangerous precedents.

"I believe you don't stop the fight," Cindy Lauper told ITK on the red carpet at the taping of the Library of Congress' Gershwin Awards in Washington.

"Equality for everybody, or nobody's really equal. This is how Hitler started, just weeding everybody out," she continued, "But I guess that's just the way it is -- you have to keep fighting for civil rights in this country."

Lee maintains the law is simply to prevent children from seeing things that are 'sexualized,' his press secretary Jade Byers said in a statement provided to media.

"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," Byers said.

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A Reddit user has since provided a photo believed to be of Lee in 1977 on a football field dressed in a woman's outfit. Lee neither confirmed nor denied he is the man in the photo, but he did apologize for a photo of him dressed in a Confederate uniform in the Auburn University yearbook in 1980.

Party band The B-52s also condemned the new law.

"We, The B-52's, are deeply concerned about the numerous new bills that promote transphobia and discrimination against transgender individuals and drag artists, which have been introduced in the United States. We strongly denounce these bills and stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community."

RuPaul's Drag Race contestants from several seasons -- including Sasha Colby, Kerri Colby, Jackie Cox, Heidi N Closet and Laganja Estranja -- posted a video to the GLADD channel decrying the attempts to restrict drag shows.

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"I have been on the forefront of the protests that's been going on drag as of recently," Heidi N Closet said. "And it's brought out a side of the world that I've not seen in many, many years. Being a gay Black man from the South, I've seen much-bigoted behavior and racism and every time those things come to light, it really tears us apart."

Heidi N Closet concluded, "But drag has been something for me personally, something that has brought people together in way of creativity and love for an art form to realize and express yourself as wild, crazy and zany as you would like to be. Like really just being your authentic self. So, we really gotta stop this attack."

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