Wardrobe malfunction during drag show in Colorado town sparks call to ban PrideFest
A wardrobe malfunction during a drag show in Colorado town sparked a call to ban PrideFest.
The wardrobe malfunction happened Aug. 27 during a celebration of the LGBTQ community in Castle Rock, Colorado, and quickly drew criticism from a Republican Douglas County commissioner, according to KUSA.
Douglas County PrideFest returned to Douglas County Fairgrounds for its annual celebration, KCNC-TV reported. It was there that a performer’s clothing slipped, revealing a silicone breast plate and fake nipple.
“We had a drag queen doing an aerial acrobatic act,” Art Kerkezian, treasurer of Castle Rock Pride, which put on the event, told KUSA. “She was leaning back, and her costume fell down and exposed part of her breast plate, her silicone breast plate.”
Commissioner George Teal took to Facebook two days later to discuss the “unfortunate events” and express concern about where the event was held.
“Exotic adult entertainment is not an allowed use at the Fairgrounds,” he wrote. “Doesn’t matter if it’s accidental (as asserted by this weekend’s event organizers) or a group of Military Veterans having a party where a scantily clad young lady jumps out of a cake…”
The comments in Commisioner Teal’s Facebook post were not in agreement, with people saying “We will not be silenced” alongside posts with the Pride flag and pro-LGBTQ sayings.
Teal added that he had considered banning the event from returning next year.
“Given this Zoning Violation, and our current rules of use that require all users of the Fairgrounds to follow all applicable laws and regulations, I do believe I have a second vote to ban the return of Pridefest in the future,” Teal said in his Facebook post.
The event organizers issued an apology for the incident on Facebook, while denouncing the commissioner’s characterization of the event as “unacceptable.”
“We sincerely apologize for the costume malfunction that occurred at our recent PrideFest. We are a group of parents who create this event so that families and children can enjoy a day of food, games, music and just plain fun in a safe, non judgemental environment. The mean-spirited social media chatter is reprehensible and indicative that there is a lot of work to be done…”
The county commission as a group has not yet discussed the future of the festival at the fairgrounds, but a spokesperson told KUSA that “the topic could come up at a future meeting.”
However, a civil rights lawyer told news outlets that moving forward with a ban likely would be considered unconstitutional.
“If the second vote comes to fruition and they pass something banning Pride, I’m sure that it will end up in federal court,” Andy McNulty told KUSA.
He went on to reference a court case from 2019, which protected the right to appear topless in public. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decided the case called “Free the Nipple vs. the City of Ft. Collins”, according to the Denver Post. The court ruled that based upon the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, anywhere it’s legal for a man to appear in public topless, it’s legal for a woman to do the same.
Castle Rock is about 30 miles south of Denver.
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Wardrobe malfunction during drag show in Colorado town sparks call to ban PrideFest."