Non-binary queen Brigitte Bandit shares defiant message as Texas approves drag performance ban
Brigitte Bandit has spoke out following Texas approving a partial drag performance ban. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)
Brigitte Bandit has spoke out following Texas approving a partial drag performance ban. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)
Non-binary drag queen Brigitte Bandit has reacted after Texas approved a partial ban on drag performances.
The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed district judge David Hittner’s 2023 ruling that Senate Bill 12 was unconstitutional, meaning businesses could be fined $10,000 (£7,600) for hosting so-called sexually oriented performances. Drag artists could be charged with a class-A misdemeanour, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $4,000 (£3,000).
While the wording doesn’t specifically mention drag, politicians, including Texas governor Greg Abbott and lieutenant governor Dan Patrick, have made it clear that the legislation was intended to restrict drag performances in the Lone Star State.
Bandit, who uses both she/her and they/them pronouns, reacted to the partial ban in her home state by taking to Instagram to clarify that it only applied to performances where minors (those under the age of 18) were present.
“Drag story times are still legal, drag shows are still legal,” she said. “Book and support your local drag. We need it now more than ever.”
Last year, Bandit mocked Marjorie Taylor Greene after the Republican congresswoman called her a man. In 2023, she was part of the legal case opposing the legislation, which resulted in a federal judge issued a temporary injunction.
“When I started drag, I would have never imagined this is where my career would take me: fighting for the right… just to f**king wear some makeup and a wig, fighting especially for the protection of trans people,” she told PinkNews. “You see a lot of increased violence against trans people and it’s scary.
“It’s scary just being visibly queer right now.”
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