{"id":105775,"date":"2026-01-20T13:35:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T13:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/105775\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T13:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T13:35:22","slug":"drag-queens-viral-erika-kirk-performance-raises-funds-for-aclu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/105775\/","title":{"rendered":"Drag queen&#8217;s viral Erika Kirk performance raises funds for ACLU"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                <img width=\"792\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Drag-performer-Lauren-Banall-is-using-her-impersonation-of-Erika-Kirk-to-raise-funds-for-the-ACLU.jp.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"On the left, drag performer Lauren Banall as Erika Kirk. On the right, Erika Kirk on Fox News.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"caption\">Drag performer Lauren Banall is using her impersonation of Erika Kirk to raise funds for the ACLU. (TikTok\/@LaurenBanall\/Getty)<\/p>\n<p class=\"caption\">Drag performer Lauren Banall is using her impersonation of Erika Kirk to raise funds for the ACLU. (TikTok\/@LaurenBanall\/Getty)<\/p>\n<p>LA-based drag queen Lauren Banall has gone viral with performances cosplaying as Erika Kirk, and is now using her virality to fundraise for US civil rights charity the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).<\/p>\n<p>In two TikTok <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@laurenbanall\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">videos<\/a> shared over the weekend, Lauren Banall appears dressed in a red blazer and black trousers, with a long blonde wig pulled back and pinned up. She is donning eye-bulging blue contact lenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the first clip, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/culture\/drag\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">drag<\/a> performer lip-syncs to audio of <a href=\"http:\/\/thepinknews.com\/topic\/erika-kirk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Erika Kirk<\/a> reciting a bible verse <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9OUj_Hzgnjs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">at the memorial service<\/a> for her husband, right-wing Turning Point USA founder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/topic\/charlie-kirk\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Charlie Kirk<\/a>, who was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/2025\/09\/11\/charlie-kirk-shooting-suspect-weapon-found\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">shot and killed<\/a> while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University last September.<\/p>\n<p>The bible verse, lifted from Luke 23:34, references forgiving a perpetrator \u201cfor they not know what they do\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Lauren Banall\u2019s lip-sync mash-up then continues with Cascada\u2019s 2009 hit, \u201cEvacuate The Dancefloor\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A second clip sees the drag performer lip-sync to audio from Erika Kirk\u2019s December <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=1553759762295075\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">interview<\/a> with CBS News journalist Bari Weiss, in which she urged for US commentator Candace Owens to \u201cstop\u201d peddling conspiracy theories about her husband\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>Both clips have since gone viral, and at the time of writing have a combined viewership of more than six million.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@laurenbanall\/video\/7597337886098197791?_r=1&amp;_t=ZN-93EBvCAfSw2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">third video<\/a>, Lauren Banall introduced herself in Erika Kirk drag as \u201cErika Qwerk\u201d and urged her newfound followers to donate to her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-aclu-block-the-bs-together?attribution_id=sl:2d0457ce-e621-41c6-a65b-7d5b37890395&amp;lang=en_US&amp;utm_campaign=man_ss_icons&amp;utm_medium=customer&amp;utm_source=copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GoFundMe page<\/a>, which is raising money to support the ACLU.<\/p>\n<p>The ACLU campaigns for the rights of marginalised and persecuted minorities, including the transgender and wider LGBTQ+ community and immigrants. The <a href=\"https:\/\/action.aclu.org\/give\/support-drag-defense-fund\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ACLU Drag Defence Fund<\/a>, which is promoted at the end of each episode of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/topic\/rupauls-drag-race\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/a>, works to protect drag performers and the LGBTQ+ community from censorship and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you so much for all of this incredible response to my Erika Kirk number. It\u2019s truly overwhelming,\u201d Lauren Banall said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking, what is something good we can do with this? What could Turning Point USA do? Monetise,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n<p>She urged her followers to donate to her GoFundMe page to \u201cfight [Donald Trump\u2019s] administration in the courts and win\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve re-ignited our Fund Rager page benefitting the ACLU so we can block the b******* this next administration is doing in the courts,\u201d the drag performer\u2019s GoFundMe page reads. \u201cNo kings, no grifters, no ICE!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"576\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Charlie-and-Erika-Kirk-.jpeg\" alt=\"Charlie Kirk and his wife Erika\" class=\"wp-image-887854\"  \/>Charlie Kirk and his wife Erika. (Samuel Corum\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was known for his contentious views on gun control and the trans community, and was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/2025\/09\/11\/charlie-kirk-trans-shooters\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">discussing the debunked conservative conspiracy around trans shooters<\/a> in the moments leading up to his death.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, Erika Kirk has made numerous press and event appearances, most notably on stage at Turning Point USA\u2019s AmericaFest in December where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/2025\/12\/22\/nicki-minaj-erika-kirk-turning-point-usa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">she interviewed rapper-turned-Trump-advocate, Nicki Minaj<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.<\/p>\n<p>    <script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drag performer Lauren Banall is using her impersonation of Erika Kirk to raise funds for the ACLU. (TikTok\/@LaurenBanall\/Getty)&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[3653,5615,32391,9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-105775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-charlie-kirk","9":"tag-drag-queen","10":"tag-erika-kirk","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-queens","15":"tag-queens-headlines","16":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}