(ThePatriotWire)- State officials in Florida are pulling the liquor license of an Orlando venue after it hosted a holiday-themed, sexually explicit drag queen show open to minors in late December.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) filed a complaint last Friday against the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation, Inc., the owner of the Plaza Live venue.
On December 28, DBPR issued a notice to the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation over its plan to host “A Drag Queen Christmas” tour that day, warning that allowing children to attend will put the venue’s license in jeopardy. The DBPR warned that it would take “any and all actions available to ensure that you do not pose a threat to minors in the future.”
Despite the notice, the Plaza Live venue went ahead with the show, allowing minors to attend the performance. The only thing the venue did in response to the notice was post a sign advising that some of the content of the drag show may not be suitable for children under the age of 18.
But according to the DBPR’s complaint, the sign was “barely visible as it was printed in a small fond on a piece of paper taped to a door.”
The complaint included several photos from the event showing underage children in attendance. It also included some of the explicit content the minors were exposed to, including a drag queen pretending to give birth on stage and then striking two shirtless men with the round red objects he birthed out of his costume.
The Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation was given 21 days to request a hearing at which the venue can present evidence and arguments against losing its license.
The drag queen Christmas toured the state of Florida in late December, stopping at several other cities including Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater, Orlando, and Miami. The DBPR sent similar notices to the Fort Lauderdale and Miami venues. The Clearwater event, however, restricted attendance to those over 18.
