Langley brewery's decision to halt future drag events met with backlash
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A brewery in Langley, B.C., is facing backlash after its owner decided to halt future drag events—including one scheduled for Pride weekend this month.
A brewery in Langley, B.C., is facing backlash after its owner decided to halt future drag events—including one scheduled for Pride weekend this month.
When Trading Post Brewing cancelled the drag bingo event Scarlet Rosé was set to host on Aug. 4, the local performer says she was told drag was “too polarizing” for the Langley business.
“It’s frustrating to hear this sort of thing because I am always willing to work with a company to help create queer representation,” Rosé wrote on Instagram Tuesday, adding that she made posters, funded extra expenses and planned the whole event.
“We don’t do drag to be polarizing or political. We do it to spread love, acceptance and community,” she explained.
Rosé, who grew up in the Langley area and says the lack of queer representation made her feel isolated, is calling on Trading Post Brewing to remove a rainbow sticker—a sign of queer allyship—from its doorway.
“You aren’t a safe space year-round. Only when it’s financially beneficial to you,” concludes the post.
Lance Verhoeff, the co-founder of Trading Post Brewing, is taking full responsibility for the decision to omit drag from the company’s programming.
