Everything Everywhere All at Once director Daniel Scheinert has hit out at the conservative politicians pushing anti-drag laws.
During his speech for Best Director at Sunday night’s Oscars, Scheinert thanked his parents for “not squashing when I was making really disturbing horror films or really perverted comedy films.
“Or dressing in drag as a kid – which is a threat to nobody.”
His comments come a week after some US right-wing lawmakers put restrictive LGBTQ laws into effect.
Tennessee became the first state in the country to put a limit on public drag performances.
The state’s governor Bill Lee signed legislation banning minors from receiving gender-affirming care and prohibiting surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender youth.
The legislation criminalises drag performances in the state and will prevent “adult-oriented businesses” from operating within 1,000 feet of public property such as schools, parks or places of worship.
Anti-drag bills have also been introduced in other states, including Oklahoma, Kentucky, North Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia.
Glad Daniel Scheinert made that reference to dressing in drag himself and told the world there is nothing scary about it. #Oscars
— maraleia (@maraleia) March 13, 2023
The move has been met with fierce criticism by many, including Drag Race host RuPaul who took to social media to encourage people to register to vote.
The star called the legislation a “classic distraction technique”.
Scheinert and his co-director Daniel Kwan became the fifth set of director duos to be nominated for Best Director.
The pair also took home Best Original Screenplay for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
