The longest running drag tour in the United States is set to make three stops in Florida after drawing the ire of the state’s attorney general last month but receiving support from city governments, including St. Petersburg’s.
James Uthmeier, appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in January, has weighed in on numerous local debates during his first year as Florida’s top legal officer. He’s twice opined on a dispute between Clearwater and the Church of Scientology and has also said Miami can’t change its election dates without voter approval.
In November, he wrote to Pensacola’s City Council asking it cancel “A Drag Queen Christmas,” the nationally touring drag show slated for a Dec. 23 performance at the city-owned Saenger Theatre.
But Uthmeier has not asked the same of St. Petersburg, which also will play host to the show at a city-owned venueMonday night. A public records request for any letter from Uthmeier to St. Petersburg about the show did not generate any results.
Even if Uthmeier had delivered a letter to St. Petersburg, its unlikely City Council members would have complied. Some councilmembers have strongly backed the performance.
“It’s an art form. Not all kinds of art appeals to all kinds of people,” council member Gina Driscoll told the Tampa Bay Times. “The beauty of art is that there is something for everyone.”
The show, which says attendees should be at least 18-years old and features performers who rose to prominence thanks to their time on RuPaul’s Drag Race, is on a 38-city tour. It comes to Hard Rock Live Orlando on Sunday, before heading to St. Petersburg’s Mahaffey Theater.
In his letter to Pensacola officials, Uthmeier called the show blasphemous and said it should not occur two days before Christmas or at the same time as the city’s family oriented Winterfest, which kicked off in November and runs until Christmas Eve. Both events will occur near each other in Pensacola’s downtown, but the Saenger Theatre is an indoor venue.
“This annual drag show openly mocks one of the most sacred holidays in the Christian faith,” he wrote. “While Pensacola children are taking pictures with Santa, men dressed as garish women in demonic costumes will be engaged in obscene behavior mere feet away.”
Uthmeier argued in the letter, which he also posted to his X account, that the city had the power to cancel the show and should do so.
“While the First Amendment safeguards freedom of expression, it does not require a city to platform and endorse disgusting, obscene content that denigrates its residents’ religious beliefs,” Uthmeier wrote. “The show’s content is designed to inflame religious strife, its timing is intentional, and its proximity to children is unacceptably problematic.”
A Pensacola City Council member said the letter was not a formal legal opinion and that cancelling the show could put the city at risk of legal ramifications.
“With all due respect to the Attorney General’s office, this was an unsolicited opinion,” council member Charles Bare said at the November 10 meeting. “We did not ask for a legal opinion from this person, and as far as I’m concerned, this is his personal opinion written on government letterhead wasting taxpayer dollars.”
“It is disingenuous to the people of our city to take this seriously and to do anything about it.”
Uthmeier again took aim at Pensacola on Monday after a national appellate court granted Florida the ability to enforce the “Protection of Children Act.” Introduced by DeSantis in 2023, the law prohibits children from attending any “adult live performance.”
“If you’re exposing children to lewd conduct, you’re on notice,” Uthmeier tweeted after the legislative victory. “We’re watching, Pensacola.”
Council member Allison Patton noted at the November meeting that St. Petersburg is also hosting the show at a public venue, but did not appear to have received any similar letter from Uthmeier. The Mahaffey is owned by St. Petersburg and privately operated by local businessman Bill Edwards.
St. Petersburg City Council members Richie Floyd and Driscoll told the Times they were not aware of any letters, but said City Council has received complaints from citizens.
“The city should be investing in programs that unite residents, not ones that mock traditions held sacred by many in our community,” read a form letter sent to the city council by numerous members of the public.
Driscoll and Floyd said that City Council does not have purview over what acts the Mahaffey decides to host, and that attempting to influence the theater’s lineup would be inappropriate, if not illegal.
“The idea that we are going to cancel something because we don’t like it is such a violation of the First Amendment,” Floyd told the Times. “All of this is an absurd conversation.”
“We’re not going to censor speech.”
The dismay of some constituents, they said, is also not grounds for them to attempt to cancel the show. They said not every show the Mahaffey hosts will attract everyone, and that the theater frequently hosts crude comedians without controversy.
“I’m a Christian,” Floyd said. “I’m not offended by (A Drag Queen Christmas) at all.”
They also said they found Uthmeier’s description of the show to be far too negative.
“I’ve always enjoyed drag shows,” Driscoll said. “It’s an unique and wonderful form of performance art.”
“Where can I get a ticket?,” she said. “That’s where I stand.”