On May 7, the Producer Entertainment Group held a “Drag Isn’t Dangerous” fundraiser – a live telethon event that raised over $500,000 to combat what the organization calls “recent anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation across the country.” Charlize Theron, Melissa McCarthy, and Billy Eichner were among the Hollywood stars who appeared on the broadcast.
Theron showed her support for the drag community with a pre-taped video and made headlines for her very explicit warning to anyone who does not share her views:
THERON: We love you queens! We’re in your corner, and we’ve got you, and I will f—k anybody up who’s like trying to f—k with anything with you guys. It’s really – in all seriousness, there’s so many things that are hurting and really killing our kids, and we all know what I’m talking about right now, and it ain’t no drag queen. Because if you’ve ever seen a drag queen lip-sync for her life, it only makes you happier, it only makes you love more, and makes you a better person…
On Friday’s show, Megyn was joined by Liz Wolfe, associate editor of Reason magazine, and Sara Gonzales, host of BlazeTV’s The News and Why It Matters, to discuss Theron’s threat and the larger issues around children attending drag events.
Megyn Responds to Charlize Theron
Megyn and Theron have an interesting history, given that the actress played Megyn in the 2019 movie Bombshell. “I don’t know her, but I feel like I have some weird connection with this person because she played me in a movie,” Megyn shared. She also noted that Theron has spoken about how her adopted son transitioned from male to female at the age of three.
According to the event description, the “Drag Isn’t Dangerous” telethon featured “fan-favorite drag performers and celebrities,” “a mix of live and pre-taped performances, appearances, and testimonials from drag artists, LGBTQ+ entertainers, and celebrity allies,” and “a live celebrity phone bank accepting callers’ donations.” The Academy Award winner was apparently one of the “celebrity allies,” and Megyn took issue with the hollowness of her argument.
Megyn explained that she attended a drag show when she lived in Chicago, and it was a “super fun” experience – for adults. “But there are drag queen shows out there right now that are deeply disturbing and they’re happening in front of young children,” she said. “Know what you’re supporting, understand what we’re actually seeing out there, which can include absolutely the grooming of young children.”
In Megyn’s view, Theron “should be against that – trans kid or not.” And she was willing to call the actress’ bluff. “So, why doesn’t Charlize Theron come and f—k me up,” Megyn asked. “Because I’m 100 percent against her on this.”
The Slippery Slope
While Megyn and her guests were not suggesting that drag performances couldn’t or shouldn’t be enjoyed by consenting adults, they took issue with the way children are increasingly being exposed to the content – even in more conservative cities. “Drag queens are not under attack,” Gonzales stated. “All we’re doing is simply asking them to please stop doing this in front of children.”
Last fall, Gonzales explained that she attended the “Garden of Eden” brunch show at Plano, TX, restaurant Ebb & Flow that she says was billed as “an all ages drag brunch.” In a video that has since gone viral, Gonzales filmed a drag queen lifting her skirt and gyrating while lip-synching lyrics to the song “P—y” by Lady as a young girl watches on from a booth.
“This is what you would think to be a very conservative, very reasonable when it comes to children area,” Gonzales said of Plano. “And yet, I went there and I saw this young child being exploited and being sexually abused.” In her view, “this is not a parental rights issue” but rather “a child abuse issue.” She believes these types of events represent “the sexual exploitation and abuse of children” because “you are infecting a young mind that is not ready to process such images, such language.” Ultimately, she said that it is “going to affect them mentally.”
Wolfe agreed that she doesn’t want her child to be in any environment where he or she exposed to this type of sexual material and expressed her frustration with the fact that those who don’t get on board with it are lambasted by Theron and the like. “It drives me crazy that we’re at this point culturally, where we pick this really absurd kind of lame thing and blow it up to be this thing that we all have to get on board with or we all have to fully reject,” she lamented.
Ultimately, Megyn sees it as a slippery slope towards desensitization. “I’m not saying drag queens are pedophiles, but you don’t know who’s in that child’s life,” she explained. “You don’t know whether that kid is exposed to… somebody who will exploit that familiarity with that kind of talk and that kind of behavior and the child’s defenses are now down because you put them down.”
For these reasons, “it is a problem, Charlize,” Megyn concluded. “Believe me.”
You can check out the full interview with Gonzales and Wolfe by tuning in to episode 549 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.