LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Celebrating Pride Month with a drag queen story hour in downtown Las Vegas didn't come without some backlash for a local business owner.
Emily Johnson, owner of For the Love LV, says she decided to host the event after she looked for a drag queen story hour to take her four children, but couldn't find one in Southern Nevada.
She took matters into her own hands and created her own story hour, inviting a well-known drag queen, Honey Davenport, to read and perform for children at her store on Thursday evening.
"I had to present opportunities for them to see people that are not like them, are not like us, in all settings," Johnson told Channel 13.
But Johnson says her intentions to promote inclusivity were met with backlash on social media.
"This one is pretty bad, it says, 'You need to get a stake, put a lot of wood under it, tie that heretic to the stake and light it on fire. Just like the good 'ol days,'" Johnson read.
Even the morning of the event, Johnson says she received this message on her work phone: "Burn in hell."
Montana was the first state to ban people dressed in drag from reading books to children at public schools and libraries. That are also bills in Florida and Tennessee trying to do the same.
Honey Davenport, the drag queen who performed at Thursday's event, says during these times in our country, events like these are essential to our humanity.
"It is pivotal to show representation, what it's like to live a fully expressed life," Davenport said.
Johnson said she hoped for parents to look at her event with an open mind.
"Drag itself is a form of art, separate from sexuality or sex," Johnson said. "When you take a drag queen out of an adult setting, it's just a princess."
