Florida state representative Anna Eskamani defended Orlando Plaza Live after Governor Ron DeSantis filed a 6-count complaint against the venue through Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation, arguing that the venue had exposed children to obscene sexual acts after it was disclosed that the venue hosted a performance for children where characters simulated masturbation and other sexual acts, all with children in the viewing audience. According to a report in the Orlando Sentinel, the state has moved to revoke the liquor license of Orlando Plaza Live.
Eskamani, a state representative representing the state’s most democratic-slanted district by proportion, is known for her support of left-wing efforts including her push to give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. She took to Twitter to vocalize her defense of the venue, where she framed the debate as first amendment rights vs. big government overreach.
“The very notion of shutting down a small business over a drag show is insane and extreme. In the United States we do not allow the government to determine what we can read, see or hear or who we can gather with,” Eskamani said. “Parents should not be asked to co-parent with Ron DeSantis and it’s clear that this continues to be selective outrage, especially since we don’t see the Governor attempting to shut down Hooters, gun shows, or rated R movies that parents bring their kids too,” Eskamani countered, commenting that “Unfortunately, these anti-LGBTQ+ attacks are nothing new. For decades, extremists have used harmful rhetoric to attack LGBTQ+ people and build their own power at the expense of others. We will not let extreme politicians drag us backward.”
According to the state, the show featured performance at the center of the show, “A Drag Queen Christmas”, which showed performers intentionally exposing performers’ prosthetic female breasts and genitalia to the audience, intentionally exposing performers’ buttocks to the audience, simulating masturbation through performers’ digitally penetrating prosthetic female genitals and graphic depictions of childbirth and/or abortion.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, in a joint statement, the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation’s board of directors said The Plaza Live has hosted drag performances for eight consecutive years and described the venue to be a “welcoming and inclusive establishment that operates in good faith and compliance with all applicable laws…That includes respecting the rights of parents to decide what content is or is not appropriate for their own children,” the statement said. “…We have just been made aware of this administrative complaint and are working with our legal team to evaluate and respond appropriately.”
Since 2004, O’Hern has worked with political campaigns in roles ranging from major projects involving nationwide digital marketing for U.S. Presidential candidates, U.S. Congressmen, state governors, and state representatives. O’Hern’s journalism background includes news reporting and editing for various organizations and news publications in Alabama and Florida since 2002. O’Hern graduated from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science.