MIAMI -- At drag brunch at Wynwood’s R House on Saturday, the mimosas were flowing, sashed and veiled brides-to-be were dancing in their seats and the dollar bills were flying.
It was business as usual for the performers and the clients, with a few subtle nods to the state’s threat to shut down the iconic drag spot over a viral video showing a provocatively dressed R House drag performer holding hands with a young girl wearing a tiara.
The state’s complaint, filed Wednesday, said drag performances in front of children “corrupts the public morals and outrages the sense of public decency.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the presence of kids at the restaurant’s daytime drag shows “a disturbing trend” that leads to “the sexualization of children”.
Unlike the screenshots of past performances in the state’s complaint, which showed dancers wearing nipple covers and thongs or skintight body suits with holes over their buttocks, this weekend’s show was tame.
A drag queen in a classic full-length glittery black ball gown lip-synced to Whitney Houston’s “I have nothing,” before ripping off the dress to reveal a long-sleeved red and cream glittery bodysuit with fishnets and knee high boots. She did cartwheels, full splits and sky high kicks to Houston’s “I wanna dance with somebody,” while thrilled patrons showered her in cash.
The most skin revealed was in another performer’s act, where she stripped off a sparkly fringed skirt and top to reveal a flesh-colored full-length bodysuit with silvery pasties and a thong over top. The bodysuit covered everything except her arms.
The crowd ate it up. Every split, every kick, every pouty face drew screams of admiration and glee from the mostly adult crowd.
The only children in sight were 3-year-old twins in matching rainbow dresses. Their dads, at a table with their friends, cheered and clapped for the dancers as their kids smiled and wiggled in their seats.
“They had a great time,” said one of their fathers, Jose Palacios, a 43-year-old Miami resident. “They were drinking lemonade; they were dancing.”
Palacios said he noticed the drag performers seemed hesitant to take tips from his table, which he called an understandable reaction considering the state complaint. But he saw nothing wrong with bringing his children to this daytime drag show.
“There was nothing that would be inappropriate for kids. If we saw anything inappropriate we would have left,” he said. “I wouldn’t expose them to anything that would be harmful to their development.”
Palacios said he wants to raise “great, responsible women,” and for his family that includes attending family-friendly drag shows and marching in Miami Beach pride, like they did earlier this year.
“At the end of the day, it should be our choice,” he said.
Jordan Shockett, who was at the R House show to celebrate a friend’s engagement, said he attended his first drag show in middle school with his parents, at a spot he said was called Madame’s in North Miami that has since gone out of business.
“I loved it,” said the 33-year-old New York resident. “It was theater. It was a show. It was a ton of fun.”
Shockett said he had tears in his eyes walking into R House Saturday morning, “knowing this place might not be here next month.” He sees drag as an important part of Miami’s queer community and its art community, and said the state’s complaint is clearly not about children’s safety but about attacking those communities.
“Every single thing he [DeSantis] does is a target against the LGBTQIA community, to everyone he views as not normal,” Shockett said. “I’m glad I don’t live here anymore.”
Dalielle Miranda, a 33-year-old Miami resident also there celebrating a friend’s engagement, said the governor’s recent strike on R House, combined with the passage of a bill critics have dubbed “don’t say gay,” leaves her worried about the queer community in Florida.
“This is a place that celebrates equality and freedom and that’s something we should preserve,” she said.
Midway through the show, a couple with two sons asked the hostess about getting a table but were turned away due to lack of reservations.
“They did tell us it was a little provocative for the kids,” said Maritza Barajas, visiting from Chicago with her husband and 10- and 11-year-old sons.
Barajas said she didn’t realize it was a drag show at first, but knowing that she probably wouldn’t choose to take her sons there, no matter how fun it looked, “because of all the questions that would come up. I don’t know how to answer them.”
The family settled on the Mexican restaurant next door.
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