James Talarico’s appearance at a Texas Pride festival featuring an 11-year-old drag performer is back in the spotlight in the final weeks of his Senate campaign, reviving a controversy over the Democrat’s record on children, gender and religion.
The event took place in June 2021 and drew scrutiny in an August report by the Washington Free Beacon. Now, with Talarico facing Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the episode is getting another look as Republicans attack the state lawmaker’s liberal positions on social issues.
Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, was a featured speaker at the Taylor PRIDE festival, where organizers promoted an 11-year-old boy performing under the name Kween Kee Kee.
Photos cited by the Free Beacon showed Talarico addressing the crowd and posing with attendees at Texas Beer Company. Other images showed the child wearing a blue dress, a platinum blond wig and heavy eye makeup during the event’s “Youth Drag Show.” An attendee also posted footage of the child doing the splits.
The promotional language came from Taylor PRIDE, which advertised Talarico and the young performer in the same announcement.
“[Taylor PRIDE] will be hosting numerous speakers such as State Rep. James Talarico, talented musical guests such as Venus Loves Mars, the absolute cutest & youngest of our drag performers Kween Kee Kee,” the group wrote.Held June 26, 2021, in Taylor, northeast of Austin, the fundraiser was intended to support “rural LGBTQ communities.” Its lineup included live music, speakers, a “drag story hour” and adult drag performers, including Brianna Brinxx and Sedonya Face.
Organizers pushed back after the festival drew objections. Taylor PRIDE said an unnamed conservative organization had “ridiculed & protested” the gathering “for being sexually explicit and exploitation of a child,” accusations the group rejected.
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“You tell us if that rings true,” the group wrote alongside photos of Kween Kee Kee and adult performers.
The post included images of Sedonya Face, Belladonna Dior and Felecia Enspire, whose photograph carried the caption “Hot Mama.”
The renewed attention comes as Talarico has sought to soften some of the rhetoric Republicans have used to portray him as out of step with Texas voters.
At a Texas House hearing, Talarico declared that “God is nonbinary.” During a 2022 sermon at his Austin church, he described women as “our neighbors with a uterus.”
The Free Beacon reported that Talarico later called his nonbinary remark “cringey” and removed language from his campaign website accusing Republicans of trying to “bully trans children.”
His record on drag performances has also supplied ammunition for GOP critics, who have dubbed him “Talafreako.”
Talarico, a member of the Texas House’s LGBTQ+ caucus, opposed Republican legislation targeting drag performances in front of children.
“We produce some of the best drag performers in the nation,” he said in 2023. “We didn’t want to hurt them.”
During a podcast interview that year, Talarico expressed his “love” for transgender children after a group rallied at the state Capitol in support of a pro-transgender bill.
“It was an inspiration to watch,” he said.
Talarico has also pushed back against criticism of his cultural credentials. After a 2022 video resurfaced showing him pledging to make his campaign vegan, he posted a photograph of himself wearing a Texas flag shirt and eating a large barbecue turkey leg.
Taylor PRIDE faced another local dispute months after the 2021 festival when it sponsored a float in the city’s Christmas parade. Two adult performers from the earlier event, Felecia Enspire and Sedonya Face, appeared on the float, drawing objections from residents.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
