A group of angry British mothers crashed a Drag Queen Story Hour event in the UK earlier this week, accusing the organisers of trying to “groom” children.
The event was the first stop of 70 in a Drag Queen Story Hour tour across the UK, and took place at a library in Reading, England.
The main drag performer, pictured below, is a 27-year-old man named Sab Samuel, who goes by the stage name “Aida H Dee.”
On the Drag Queen Story Hour UK website, organisers say the event is to provide “fun and interactive kids shows with amazing and talented drag performers!” It also promises to “change the world book by book.”
However, on Tuesday, a small group of angry mothers crashed the event, dubbing the performance “disgusting.”
https://twitter.com/Ben_Scallan/status/1552944549651177473
“You’re probably teaching kids that there’s 100 genders,” said one mother.
“There’s only two sexes. No man can be a woman. We’re here to protect children.”
Another mother added: “You’re allowing child grooming to take place. This is disgusting.”
Notably, many of the children in the video appear to be toddlers.
The protesting mothers were subsequently removed from the library by police officers.
Reportedly, the drag performer later had to be escorted out by dozens of police as some protestors outside had vowed to perform a citizens’ arrest.
The event was attended by Labour MP Stella Creasy, and was praised by fellow Labour MP Nadia Whittome.
This is so wholesome 🥹
— Nadia Whittome MP (@NadiaWhittomeMP) July 26, 2022
Drag Queen Story Hour UK defended the event, saying that all of their performers underwent a criminal background check before being allowed near children.
“The drag queen, after finishing the story hour, had to be escorted out of the library by the police to the next story hour show in Tilehurst Library,” they said in a statement.
“Numerous messages of support have been sent to the performer and Aida is safe.”
Additionally, a spokesman for the Reading Borough Council said that the event was “age-appropriate,” and that parents had voluntarily chosen to take their children there.
“It was a “ticketed event and all parents attending were aware of the nature of the performance,” he reportedly said.
“It is regretful that some people chose not to respect parental choice.”
In July of this year in Ireland, well-known drag queen Rory “Panti Bliss” O’Neill held a drag queen story hour event in Tertulia Bookshop in Westport, Co. Mayo, referring to protestors as “fascists.”
This was retweeted by Fine Gael Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.
I’ve been a customer of @TertuliaBooks for a long time. A wonderful independent bookshop.
Support them now. Stand against division. Buy a book – https://t.co/lvsUAFEDej https://t.co/jqTtXX01Sr— Paschal Donohoe (@Paschald) July 3, 2022
Last July in 2021, the National Library of Ireland also held a similar event.
📚 On Sat, 10 July at 2pm, #Drag Story Time will aim to inspire a love of reading while celebrating diversity, and promoting acceptance of difference in others. Readers of all ages are welcome to this fun and engaging #storytelling event. 🌈
🎟️ Book now: https://t.co/6KaSyHx61U pic.twitter.com/qJOHvu1ehL
— National Library of Ireland (@NLIreland) July 8, 2021
In 2019, Gript reported on Dun Laoghaire Library’s attempt to host a drag story hour event for three year old children by a group call “Glitterhole.” The group concerned produced highly sexualised content, targeted at adults, and its social media feed is littered with highly suggestive and explicit materials from previous performances.
THREAD: Although we have not even formally launched yet, GRIPT was the only Irish media outlet to fully investigate and report plans by Dun Laoghaire Library to host an event for three year old children featuring a group called "Glitter Hole".
— gript (@griptmedia) April 16, 2019
The link to that report can be viewed below.
Glitter Hole controversy: New tweet from the sexually explicit drag queens emerges