Young girl tips drag queen at pride event sponsored by Nickelodeon: 'Nobody’s scaring anybody, and it’s a beautiful thing'

A drag queen in women's lingerie performed a dance at a recent so-called family pride event in California, and at some point during the suggestive dance, a young girl well below the age of majority handed the drag queen a tip.

Last Friday, Burbank Pride of Burbank, California, hosted its first-ever Family Pride in the Park night, an event which featured many high-profile guests and drag queen performers. During the evening, one such drag performer held a fan as he pranced about to Lady Gaga's "A-Yo" in a lacy red crop top, high-waisted underwear, and thigh-high red stiletto boots.

According to a video shared on Twitter, at some point during the performance, a young girl with a long braid who looks no older than 10 ran up and handed the performer money. The dancer accepted the money with a brief smile and then tossed the bill to the side as the girl scampered away.

It is unclear whether the dancer is one of the drag queens listed on many of the event advertisements: Ms. Knightley, Bohenne Arreaux, and Calla Faeria.

According to these same ads, the event also featured a "KIDS ZONE," though it is unclear what type of entertainment the "KIDS ZONE" offered.

Perhaps even more alarming is that the event, and indeed Burbank Pride in general, has been sponsored by Nickelodeon Animation Studios, a company ostensibly dedicated to telling "fun, playful, and sometimes quirky stories where kids can see themselves and laugh with [its] characters."

Nickelodeon did not respond to a request for comment.

Other sponsors and supporters of the event include the Trevor Project, Macy’s, Elevate Burbank and Linda Bessin, the Burbank Community YMCA, Warner Bros., Costco, Unique Vintage, Belmont Village Senior Living, the Colony Theatre, Senator Anthony Portantino, Isabel Omero, the Little White Chapel, Burbank Temple Emanu El, and Mocean.

Well-known "Big Bang Theory" actress and current "Jeopardy!" co-host Mayim Bialik, who claimed that she has been a member of the Burbank community for nearly her "entire life," also appeared at the event and addressed the audience.

"It’s a beautiful event, no matter how you identify or if you’re an ally," Bialik asserted. "I brought my kid, and we’re having a great time."

Omero, the chair of Burbank Pride Sponsorship, likewise argued that the event brought the Burbank community closer together.

"This was an opportunity to introduce the trans, LGBT community as a whole to Burbank as a whole," Omero said. “If you could get the two groups together – a lot of times people don’t know each other, they may not know their neighbor down the street – but now they can see who their neighbors are and that we can all be friends. Nobody’s scaring anybody, and it’s a beautiful thing."

To kick off the festivities, Isabella Meneses sang the national anthem. It is unknown whether anyone in attendance knelt during the performance.

A local high school drama club also made an appearance at the event, though how club members participated is unclear.

"Burbank is such a diverse community with a vibrant LGBTQIA+ population, and this is really the first time we are able to fully celebrate as a city," said Tracy Tabb, president of Burbank Pride.

"We hope this event will be the first of many more to come."

H/T: Not the Bee