'We as a society have failed if we stand by': BlazeTV's Sara Gonzales shuts down Disney-themed drag show for kids

A bar in Denton, Texas, had planned an all-ages drag event for September 11 entitled "Cool Beans Drag Brunch: Disney Edition." The event, open to children, would feature men dressed as scantily clad female Disney characters to whom children could give cash. The event was canceled owing to the initiative taken by BlazeTV's Sara Gonzales.

Upon looking into the event, Gonzales, the host of "The News & Why It Matters," recognized that the Disney theme reflected a choice "to immerse young children into drag queen culture by merging it with something all children love: Disney."

Gonzales told TheBlaze that "we as a society have failed if we stand by and watch mentally ill parents expose their children to these shows and think it's none of our business."

The event and ones like it aren't merely unacceptable. Gonzales reckoned the exposure of "young children to sexually explicit shows where men dress up like women and dance provocatively for money [to be] child abuse. And child abuse is everybody's business."

Keen not to stand idly by, Gonzales took to Twitter on September 8, writing "Cool Beans Bar and Grill in Denton, TX is hosting an ALL AGES drag show THIS SUNDAY. Who's coming with me to shut it down?"

Gonzales' post garnered thousands of likes and hundreds of retweets, generating sufficient pressure on the bar to cancel the event.

Among those who circulated Gonzales' call to action was former state Senator Don Huffines (R-Texas), who wrote "The devil is coming for your kids. What are you going to do to stop this madness?"

Turning the tables: a successful protest

A Denton city council staff report indicated that on September 8, Mayor Gerard Hudspeth had sought information regarding the rights of businesses and what precisely the city could regulate. His office was reportedly advised that "the City would not regulate an event such as this unless it met the definition of a special event under the code" and that the Disney drag event was not "a sexually oriented business under the City's zoning."

While authorities could not have prevented the event, they did not necessarily help facilitate it amidst growing protest.

The Texas GOP suggested in a tweet that Sheriff Tracy Murphree had refused to provide security for the event, helping to ensure its cancellation.

Safety concerns were cited in the bar's Friday Facebook announcement as cause for the event's cancellation. "Having a safe space that day, or any day, takes precedence over all else ... Our drag brunch has caught a lot of attention from certain political groups who have made it very clear that they aren't happy about this event," read the release. "To those of you who have forced us to make this decision, shame on you! ... This is not a 'win' for you."

The bar further alleged that it had received "aggressive phone calls and hateful comments."

What Cool Beans attributed to hatred, Gonzales characterized as justified moral outrage. "The overwhelming majority of Americans do NOT agree with the sexualization of children," she said, "but too many are scared of being called 'phobic' of something."

She indicated further that the successful shutdown of this event is replicable, given the courage. "Stop being afraid. We are the majority and we have to speak up and make it known before it's too late."

What it took in this instance is what it will take every time: "Call the businesses and let them know. Send them emails. Protests the events. Show up."

Line in the sand

Drag shows involving and targeting children have become a new front in the culture wars.

The Idaho GOP suggested last week that these events, involving the "imposition of adult sexuality & adult sexual appetites on children," are tantamount to "the sexualization of children."

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar (R) wrote on Thursday that drag shows for kids are "child sex abuse, plain and simple."

While a host of Republicans have condemned the embroilment of children in drag events, some Democrats have gone beyond passively supporting them.

Scott Wiener, the Democratic state senator in California who introduced a bill keeping those who sodomized minors ten years their junior off of sex offender lists, quipped about incorporating "Drag Queen 101" into the K-12 curriculum.

New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) seriously endorsed drag queen story hour for kids in June.

The leftist magazine Salon published an article on June 30 that recommended exposing children to drag shows, because doing so "starts the conversation about queer history, oppression, and activism" and "normalizes this diversity."

"The left knows the way you make long-lasting, multi-generational changes in culture is to indoctrinate the youth," said Gonzales.

The normalization and exposure advocated in the Salon article is par for the course. "Once they expose young children to the LGBT community, to being gender fluid, to men wearing dresses and appropriating women, they can normalize all of it."

Gonzales referenced the influx of pornographic materials into schools and noted such material serves as a prong of the same attack on children.

As evidenced by the successful shutdown of the Disney drag event, the problem may be political in nature, but the solution is left up to individuals. "If you want to save the morality this country has left for your children and your children's children, you have to speak out and you have to show up. Don't expect someone else to do it for you. The time is now."

Neither the first nor the last to be shut down

This is not the first drag event targeting children that has been canceled due to protest and pressure in recent months.

A drag show planned for June 24, in which everyone including children were encouraged to bring money to give to the performers, was canceled after the Libs of TikTok account drew attention to the event.

After significant backlash, the Boise Pride Festival noted last week that it it would postpone its planned taxpayer-subsidized drag show sexualizing child performers.

Gonzales hinted on Twitter that after shutting down the Disney drag event in Denton, she would be turning her attention to Katy, Texas. On September 24, in Katy, Texas, the First Christian Church will be hosting an all-ages "drag bingo" event.

Learn more about Sara Gonzales' fight against Texas drag shows: