The Starlighter venue in San Antonio, Texas, canceled their all ages drag shows for the rest of the year after journalist Tayler Hansen attended the show and recorded what he saw. In a series of Twitter posts, Hansen documented the performer's interactions with a child.
“A Drag Queen was touching and stroking a child’s hair. Attendees gave the child money to give to the Queens,” Hansen wrote.
The show came after a showing of the animated film Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.
The venue released a statement in response to Hansen’s tweets announcing its decision to cancel its drag shows for the rest of the year.
“The Starlighter’s goal has always been to provide a safe all ages space for entertainment & unfortunately we’re now being made to feel unsafe in our own space,” the venue said in a statement. “We’re being bullied and threatened both online in comments, reviews, & tweets.”
“For the safety of our queens, staff, & patrons we’re canceling all of the drag events for the remainder of the year,” the statement continued. “This was a decision made between the queens & The Starlighter owners as a safety measure & nothing more.”
The venue did address the child in question stating that the child’s parent was a vendor who was nearby and approved the interaction between the child and the drag queen.