'We are not going to be scared': Elora, Ont. drag show will continue as planned despite online vitriol
An upcoming drag show in Elora, Ont. has been subjected to hateful online messages, prompting provincial police to attend the event out of caution.
Marty Van Vliet is the owner of The Elora Distilling Company, where the show will be held, and the organizer of the event. Van Vliet came out as gay in the 1980’s and said he’s surprised that LGBTQIA2+ hate is still prevalent today.
“At the time, it was okay to bash gays, it was still socially the norm,” said Van Vliet. “We grew out of that … I am shocked that it’s happening in 2023.”
Since the announcement of the upcoming drag show, the company’s Facebook page has been inundated with what Van Vliet describes as hateful and threatening comments.
“We’ve been doing drag for fully a year. The first three shows, we never had a single comment and we put it out this time and got deluged on social media with really nasty, nasty comments,” he said. “They were calling us pedophiles, groomers. They said we should bring back the firing squad.”
In a statement to CTV News, OPP said: “Investigating online comments such as these can be challenging as often times those making the comments do not live in the community.” The statement concluded with police reiterating that there is no place for hate.
Van Vliet said that police will be attending the drag show as a precaution.
“It’s disconcerting when you have this amount of hate directed at you,” he said. “There was a lot of evenings where I was waking up at three in the morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. Who wants to be hated for who they are? It wasn’t anything we did. We are having a drag show.”
Though a new situation for the Elora company, this is not the first incident of its kind locally or across the country.
In December, a drag queen from Guelph said her shows were also threatened on social media and she ended up cancelling the event.
More recently, a drag queen in Coquitlam, British Columbia was reading to children at a library Saturday, when she was bombarded with protesters. However, the cheers of support outweighed the opposition.
“We’re not going to be scared here,” said Van Vliet. “We’re going forward with the event. It’s now sold out and I think the way to fight it is to know we are not going to listen and the community has rallied around us. We’re going to move forward with their support.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.