Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) filed a complaint against a Miami restaurant this week over a drag show after a popular right-wing social media account posted a video showing kids attending the event, according to NBC Miami.
Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation began investigating R House, a restaurant and lounge in Miami that host drag brunches, after they became aware of the video posted by LibsofTikTok. The account frequently posts photos and videos of LGBTQ+ people and events to fuel outrage.
“They actually had agents going to this place and effectively just gathering information, getting intelligence, seeing what’s going on,” DeSantis said. “And what they found was not only were there minors there — and these are sexually explicit drag shows — the bar had a children’s menu. And you think to yourself: ‘Give me a break, what’s going on?”
According to the complaint: “The video shows what appears to be a transgender dancer leading a young girl by the hand and walking through Respondent’s dining area. The dancer’s buttocks were fully exposed, and his ‘g-string’-style bikini bottom was stuffed with dollar bills — a practice that is commonly known to occur at strip clubs. The dancer’s breasts — unmistakably female in appearance — were also fully exposed except for the nipple and areola, which were covered with adhesive ‘pasties.’”
The complaint also alleges that R House violated state law and cited a 1947 Florida Supreme Court ruling that says “men impersonating women” in a “suggestive and indecent” fashion constitutes a public nuisance.
If the complaint is successful, the state could revoke R House’s liquor license.
DeSantis defended the complaint in a press conference on Wednesday saying “having kids involved in this is wrong.”
“That is not consistent with our law and policy in the state of Florida and it is a disturbing trend in our society to try to sexualize these young people. That is not the way you look out for our children, you protect children, you do not expose them to things that are inappropriate,” he said.
Restaurant owners told NBC News they are working with the department through their attorney to “rectify the situation.”
“We are an inclusive establishment and welcome all people to visit our restaurant,” the owners said. “We are hopeful that Governor DeSantis, a vociferous supporter and champion of Florida’s hospitality industry and small businesses, will see this as what it is, a misunderstanding, and that the matter will be resolved positively and promptly.”
However, some parents are pushing back at the contradictory messages coming from the DeSantis administration. One parent pointed to the fact that DeSantis allowed parents to choose whether their children wear face masks to school during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but now he is interfering with parents’ choice to take children to see drag shows, Newsweek reports.
“If I choose to bring my daughter to a drag show, [and] that business will be the one penalized for my choice. I mean, I really don’t see the correlation,” Nicole Alvarez said. “[DeSantis] has always expressed that parents have a right to choose for their children, that private businesses have a right to conduct business as they see fit. Honestly, this is an overreach.”
