Air Force leaders organized a ‘family friendly’ drag show for the celebration of Pride Month, but Defense Department leaders stepped in to stop the show from happening on the first day of Pride Month, June 1, at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, shared with Air Force that funding drag show on the bases is not part of the Pentagon policy and advised them to cancel the show or move it off base.
Why was the annual drag show canceled?
The annual drag shows organized at military bases during Pride Month recently faced criticism. Conservative politicians believe taxpayers’ money isn’t suitable for funding family-friendly drag shows on military bases.
On March 29, Representative Matt Gaetz furiously questioned Defense Secretary Austin and Chairman Milley about the drag queen story hours on bases around the world, including in Montana, Nevada, Virginia, and Germany, during the House Armed Services Committee hearing.
- Both the officials shared that the department isn’t funding the Drag story hours, nor were they aware of such events organizations at the military bases. “I would like to take a look at those,” Milley shared, referring to the flyers further explaining that he doesn’t agree with those.
.@BreitbartNews: "A planned 'child-friendly' drag queen show on Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada has been canceled after @RepMattGaetz demanded answers from Pentagon leaders as to why it was happening when they claimed they did not support them on bases."https://t.co/n3RmKF311f
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) June 1, 2023
Representative Matt Gaetz also sent a letter regarding the issue of the drag show on May 23. He inquired Austin and Milley about the issue and six other events on the bases of the U.S. military. Furthermore, he asked the Pentagon leaders to share if they have taken any actions against officials who used taxpayers’ money on them.
As per the statements of a U.S. official and defense official, chairman Mark Milley looked significantly angry when he was informed about the drag show scheduled for the upcoming week.
Officials share a statement about the cancellation of a drag show for the Pride Month
Our @HASCRepublicans hearings are working. Exposing the wokeness in our military is the best way to stop it.
We’re just getting started.
cc: @RepMattGaetz, @RepMarkAlford https://t.co/szV4TRp0KG
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) June 1, 2023
An Air Force official confirmed that staying consistent with the testimony of the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the Nellis Air Force will not host any drag events at its facilities this year. The commanders who organized the events are directed a day before to either cancel or relocate the events to an off-base location.
Deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh also shared a statement regarding the cancellation of the drag shows during Pride Month. “The DoD will not host any drag events at United States’ military base by the Joint Ethics Regulation,” Singh said to NBC News, further stating that hosting drag events with federal funds isn’t suitable for using DoD resources.
Pentagon CANCELED third annual drag show at Nellis
Air Force Base. Public outrage is working https://t.co/nnM7UZaKKs— Chewbacca (@Chewbacca7222) June 1, 2023
While many people didn’t know about the annular drag shows of Nellis Air Force, netizens believe that recent public outrage regarding the ‘woke’ events held during Pride Month had a hand in the decision to cancel or shift the Thurday’s drag show off-base location.
- Previously, Nellis Air Force Base hosted a Pride Month drag show, “Drag-u-Nellis,” in June 2021 to promote inclusivity and diversity. Officials canceled the upcoming family-friendly drag show for its lack of qualification to use resources of DoD facilities.
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