Drag Isn't Dangerous | |
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Genre | Telethon |
Created by | Producer Entertainment Group |
Directed by | John Mark |
Presented by |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Running time | 270 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | |
Release | May 7, 2023 |
Drag Isn't Dangerous: A Digital Fundraiser is a charity livestream telethon organized by the Producer Entertainment Group, that was held on May 7, 2023, from 7:00 pm to 11:30 pm (EDT). It was aimed to raise awareness that supports drag and trans organizations. The telethon was hosted by comedian Justin Martindale and drag performer Peppermint, and featured many prominent celebrities and drag performers.
The telethon event lasted for 270 minutes and raised over US$523,000; all the proceeds went to several LGBTQ+ organizations, including GLAAD, GLSEN, and the ACLU Drag Defense Fund. A charity single was also released, performed by Jayelle and Ocean Kelly.
The Tennessee Adult Entertainment Bill was introduced in Tennessee in late February 2023, which bans public "adult cabaret performance" in front of children in the state of Tennessee. [1] This bill was marked as "vague" and "authoritarian" in what it considers an "adult cabaret performance" although it defines it as a "male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest." [2]
The bill was signed on March 2, 2023, by Republican governor Bill Lee. [3] Tennessee is the first state in the United States to restrict public drag performances, [4] and went into effect on July 1, 2023. [5] This bill sparked outrage throughout the United States, including among politicians and drag queens. [6] A federal judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Tommy Parker, halted the Tennessee bill citing First Amendment concerns. [7] Other states in the US, such as Arizona, [8] Oklahoma, [9] and Texas, [10] have introduced similar anti-drag bills in 2023. [11]
In March 2023, Producer Entertainment Group co-partnered with Black Queer Town Hall to create a telethon campaign named, Drag Isn't Dangerous, with several companies and organizations co-presenting it. [12] They planned the telethon event to "raise awareness and funds for LGBTQ+ causes and organizations that support drag and trans performers". [13]
The campaign event premiered on May 7, 2023, at 4:00 pm (PDT). [14] Online tickets were made available after the online telethon was announced for $20 via the livestreaming service Moment. [15] An official pre-show fundraiser was later set up for people to donate, through Tiltify. Campaign merch was also released to the public, with all proceeds going to the telethon. [16]
Many drag queens, such as Sherry Vine and Jackie Beat, announced their inclusion. The lineup also revealed several RuPaul's Drag Race contestants would take part in the event, such as Ginger Minj, Bob the Drag Queen, Jinkx Monsoon, Manila Luzon, and Trixie Mattel. [17] Frankie Grande, Brandon Stansell, and Justin Martindale also joined the event. [18]
In mid-April, many actors and comedians such as Margaret Cho, Leslie Jones, Ts Madison, Amy Schumer, and Charlize Theron, signed up for the telethon event. [19] [20] Throughout the telethon's social media, they revealed an official line-up of the event with over one-hundred participants. [21] Jacob Slane mentioned in a BroadwayWorld article, Matt Weaver was the co-executive producer of the telethon. [22]
The telethon occurred in Los Angeles, with drag queen Peppermint and comedian Justin Martindale being the main hosts. [23] Alaska Thunderfuck and actor Adam Shankman, were co-hosting at some points in the telethon. An official GoFundMe campaign was launched for people to donate. Celebrity phone operators included: Candis Cayne, Ginger Minj, Jinkx Monsoon, Kelly Mantle, Kerri Colby, Laganja Estranja, Monét X Change, Jai Rodriguez, Sherry Vine, Johnny Sibilly, Tammie Brown, Trinity the Tuck, and Vincint. [24] The telethon was broadcast live, exclusively through Moment. It was also covered online such as YouTube and Twitch, though some parts were removed from its Moment deal. [25]
The show began at 7:00 pm EDT. The telethon consisted of musical performances, pre-taped appearances, speeches, conversations between celebrity operators and donors calling in, and comedic skits. [26]
A charity single was released on the same day as the telethon premiere, May 7, titled "Drag Isn't Dangerous" (2023). The single is performed by Jayelle and Ocean Kelly, written by Ashley Gordon, Drew Louis, and Ocean Kelly, and produced by Drew Louis. All the revenue from the song's downloads will be donated to the telethon. [27]
Title | Year | Songwriters | Producer | Ref. |
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"Drag Isn't Dangerous" (performed by Jayelle and Ocean Kelly) | 2023 | Ashley Gordon, Drew Louis, Ocean Kelly | Drew Louis | [28] |
Thanks to your generosity we were able to raise over half a million dollars for the Drag Isn’t Dangerous fund to gift our beneficiaries to combat this rash of harmful anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation.
— Jacob Slane and David Charpentier, thanking the people who donated to Drag Isn't Dangerous. [29]
At the end of the telethon event, their official GoFundMe campaign received over $523,000, including the ticket sale made from Moment. [30] Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova announced that "they'll host a livestream of the final night" of their tour, Trixie and Katya Live: The Last Show (2023), [31] a portion of their funds will be donated to the telethon's campaign. [32] All of the proceeds is set to be donated to "GLAAD, GLSEN, HeadCount, Black Queer Town Hall," and others. [33] [34]
Moment ticket sale | GoFundMe fundraiser | Total amount raised |
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$208,000 | $315,000 | $523,000+ |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Tennessee may experience some legal challenges that non-LGBT residents do not. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the state since 1996. Marriage licenses have been issued to same-sex couples in Tennessee since the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015.
Hera Hoffer, best known under the stage name Jinkx Monsoon, is an American drag queen, actress, singer and comedian. Named the "Queen of All Queens", she has been noted for her celebrity impersonations and quick wit.
Joshua Allen Eads, better known by the stage name Ginger Minj, is an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, and reality television personality. After achieving recognition for placing as the runner-up on the seventh season of the reality television competition series RuPaul's Drag Race, Minj returned to compete on the second and sixth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Minj has acted in three Netflix productions—the comedy feature film Dumplin' (2018), the animated series Super Drags, and RuPaul's fictional series AJ and the Queen, and has acted in numerous theatrical productions. Minj appeared in the 2022 film Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel to Hocus Pocus. Minj has released three studio albums—Sweet T (2016), Gummy Bear (2021), and Double Wide Diva (2021).
Brian Michael Firkus, better known by the stage name Trixie Mattel, is an American drag queen, television personality, and singer-songwriter originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is known for her exaggerated, high-camp, 1960s-influenced style, distinctive eye makeup, and her blend of comedy, acoustic pop and folk-country music; Mattel sings and plays guitar and the autoharp. In 2015, she competed on the seventh season of the drag reality television competition RuPaul's Drag Race, placing sixth. In 2018, she went on to win the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
Brian Joseph McCook, known by his drag persona Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova, or mononymously as Katya, is an American drag queen, actor, author, recording artist, and comedian. Katya is best known for placing fifth on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and placing as a runner-up on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, as well as for appearing in the World of Wonder web series UNHhhh and the Viceland series The Trixie & Katya Show with co-host and fellow season 7 alum Trixie Mattel. Trixie and Katya often appear together as a popular comedy duo.
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original RuPaul's Drag Race, which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, before relocating to VH1. However, it was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account that the fifth season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime. Following the cast announcement on May 8, 2020, producers announced that the show would remain airing on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments". On February 24, 2021, Paramount+ announced via Twitter that the streaming service would be the new home to the series for the sixth season.
Christopher Delmar Caldwell, known by his stage name Caldwell Tidicue, and better known as his drag name Bob the Drag Queen, is an American drag queen, comedian, actor, activist, musician, and reality television personality. He is best known for winning the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. As of 2020, he has more than one million followers on Instagram and was the first Black Drag Race queen to reach the milestone. After Drag Race, he pursued acting, appearing in television shows such as High Maintenance (2016), Tales of the City (2019), and A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019). In 2020, he began co-hosting We're Here on HBO alongside fellow Drag Race contestants Eureka O'Hara and Shangela.
Christmas Queens 2 is a holiday compilation album by various artists. It was released by Producer Entertainment Group on November 11, 2016. Consisting of 30 tracks, the album is a sequel to Christmas Queens (2015) and features RuPaul's Drag Race contestants alongside Jackie Beat, Michelle Visage, and Carnie Wilson performing mostly original material; exceptions include ensemble covers of "Deck the Halls" and "Auld Lang Syne, as well as Visage's rendition of "O Holy Night". The compilation was promoted by a music video for "Working Holiday", which features Alaska Thunderfuck and Manila Luzon, a web series entitled Christmas Queens, and a tour by various artists with December 2016 shows in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. It received mixed reviews from music critics and peaked at number two on Billboard's Comedy Albums chart.
Christmas Queens 4 is a holiday compilation album featuring covers of Christmas songs by contestants of the American reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race. The album was released by the label Producer Entertainment Group on November 16, 2018. It is the fourth installment of the Christmas Queens album series.
"Born Naked" is the first episode of the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Directed by Nick Murray, the episode originally aired on March 2, 2015. Kathy Griffin is a guest judge. For the fashion show mini-challenge, Mathu Andersen and former contestant Alaska Thunderfuck make guest appearances, the latter impersonating Anna Wintour.
"Glamazonian Airways" is the second episode of the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race. The episode aired on March 9, 2015, and features a Rusical. Olivia Newton-John and Jordin Sparks serve as guest judges, alongside regular panelists RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and Carson Kressley. Moby and Jamal Sims also make guest appearances, the former to help judge the mini-challenge and the latter to offer choreography coaching to contestants for the main challenge.
Battle of the Seasons was a drag tour featuring RuPaul's Drag Race contestants produced by Producer Entertainment Group and Sidecar Management, in collaboration with Logo TV and World of Wonder.
Digital Drag Fest was a digital drag concert series hosted by Producer Entertainment Group. Beginning on March 27, 2020, it was originally supposed to be a limited engagement until April 12 but, due to overwhelming demand, the series was extended to May 30. The aim of the series is to allow drag and LGBT performers who have had shows cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic a chance to perform for their fans. 50 percent of the proceeds from the event's merchandise would be donated to GLAAD, and several performers from the event also pledged a portion of their ticket sales to the organization.
Producer Entertainment Group (PEG), also affiliated with Producer Entertainment Group Records (PEGR), is an American talent management firm and production company based in Burbank, California. The group manages LGBTQ+ talent across the globe, including past competitors from the Drag Race franchise.
WOW Presents Plus is a subscription-based streaming service owned by production company, World of Wonder. The subscription service was founded in November 2017, by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey. The service offers a multitude of original series, including shows like Painted with Raven and UNHhhh.
The Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act, also known as the Tennessee drag ban, was an anti-drag bill, which banned public "adult cabaret performance" in public or in front of children in the state of Tennessee. The act was vague in what it considered an "adult cabaret performance" although it defined it as a "male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest."
Drag panic is a moral panic that stems from the belief that drag, when exposed to minors, can be harmful, due to its perception as sexual in nature. Drag panic often includes the belief that drag performances aimed at children are attempts by the LGBTQ+ community to sexualize or recruit children.
Jaidynn Diore Fierce is the stage name of Christopher Williams, an American drag performer who competed on season 7 of the American television series RuPaul's Drag Race. Williams, who is originally from Tennessee, lives and works in Nashville. He has spoken out against Tennessee's bill to ban public drag performance and gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
Ashley Gordon, known professionally as Ash Gordon, is an American singer-songwriter. She is signed to Pulse Music Group. She is best known for her work with RuPaul's Drag Race contestants Trixie Mattel & Katya, and for co-writing Drag: The Musical with Alaska Thunderfuck.