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<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Friday\u2019s ruling confirms Southern Utah Drag Stars was the prevailing party in the 2025 settlement and orders St. George to pay.<\/p>\n The three-year legal battle was sparked by opposition in St. George to an all-ages drag show planned for a city-owned public park. The protest was spearheaded by far-right council member Michelle Tanner, a vaccine denier and \u201cfamily values\u201d proponent who had already cost the city a six-figure settlement in another drag-related dispute.<\/p>\n Never Miss a Beat In 2022, Tanner objected to the city issuing HBO a permit to film an episode of the traveling drag show We\u2019re Here<\/a> in the small southern Utah town.<\/p>\n \u201dSomething is fishy as hell about how this went down,\u201d Tanner texted colleagues<\/a> after the city manager issued a permit for the show, over objections from Tanner and her right-wing allies on the council. The manager, Brad Lenhard, told Tanner and the council members that there was no legal basis for denying the permit and that doing so would violate free speech protections.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless the production violates a law, I think their right to use the park is protected under the First Amendment,\u201d Lenhard replied in a text message to members.<\/p>\n Lenhard issued the permit, and the show was shot. 2000 people showed up for the main event at a St. George amphitheater.<\/p>\n Tanner was incensed.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not trust any staff member who wouldn\u2019t look at a permit application for an HBO TV-MA rated production being held at a children\u2019s venue and think to themselves \u2018hmm rather than revising contracts, breaking ordinances, and pushing this through in record time, maybe this should be a decision for ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF WE THE PEOPLE to make,’\u201d she wrote on social media. <\/p>\n Tanner then led an effort to fire Lenhard, who threatened to sue. City lawyers said St. George would be found liable for an illegal termination. The city settled with the manager for six figures, according to sources.<\/p>\n Tanner then took her anti-drag crusade to the Southern Utah Drag Stars permit, rallying council members in 2023 to deny it on a technicality.<\/p>\n The group, led by drag artist and CEO Mitski Avalox, sued, detailing Tanner\u2019s role in directing \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d action against the drag queens<\/a>. A district court judge granted a preliminary injunction in June that year, allowing the show to go on.<\/p>\n Again anticipating defeat in the face of Tanner\u2019s anti-drag animus, St. George was forced to settle with Drag Stars in 2025.<\/p>\n Since then, the city has been in denial over its obligation to pay.<\/p>\n St. George argued the drag queens didn\u2019t meet the standard of \u201cprevailing party\u201d in the settlement, a designation required to recover attorneys\u2019 fees under federal civil rights law, St. George News<\/a> reported. The city also contended that the drag queens\u2019 requested fees were excessive and based on vague billing entries.<\/p>\n \u201cThe plain language of this provision is clear and unambiguous\u2014Plaintiffs are the prevailing party in this case and are entitled to recover their reasonable attorneys\u2019 fees and costs,\u201d the court wrote.<\/p>\n Tanner hasn\u2019t commented publicly on the ruling. She\u2019s up for reelection<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/my-screenshots-2024-05-02-at-41513pm.jpg\"\/)
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