During the evening of Tuesday, 28 June, US Vice President Kamala Harris hosted an LGBTQ+ Pride Event at her residence, Number One Observatory Circle and invited drag queen Shangela, to speak and show solidarity with drag artists following the widespread right-wing moral panic over drag, framing as a form of “grooming” young children, that has swept the US over the course of this year.
Shangela is well-known for her participation in the RuPaul’s Drag Race Franchise and for hosting 'We’re Here', a reality TV show, on HBO Max.
Over Pride month, Harris has explicitly shown solidarity with the queer community in many ways.
While speaking at a Capitol Pride celebration on 12 June, the 6th anniversary of the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting that resulted in the death of 49 queer people, she said, according to People Magazine, "no one should fear going to a nightclub for fear that a terrorist might try to take them down. No one should fear loving who they love. Our children in Texas and Florida should not fear who they are."
She continued, “Black and brown and women of colour, transgender women, should not fear for their lives. We should not have to be dealing with 300 laws in states around our country that are attacking our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters.”
Shangela expressed her gratitude to Harris for her show of solidarity through an Instagram post, saying, “I woke up today asking myself “did that really just happen?” Last night I had the honor of becoming the first drag queen in drag to ever attend an event at the residence of the Vice President of America.”
“It was also the first time that an LGBTQ Pride Event had been held at the residence. MAJOR. Thank you Madame @vp for being an authentic ally and for not only holding this LGBTQ event at ur residence, but for also inviting me to make a few welcoming remarks.”
(With inputs from NPR and People's Magazine.)
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