Kari Lake, the favorite candidate in the Republican primary elections for governor of Arizona, condemned the growing cultural influence of drag queens, adding to the latest social grievance that is taking hold on the right.
But this weekend her comments came under fire from one of Phoenix’s most popular drag performers, who claims Lake is a hypocrite who frequented her performances.
Richard Stevens, who performs under the name Barbra Seville, said Lake, a former television news anchor, regularly attended drag shows and even hired him to dress as Marilyn Monroe at a private party she took her daughter to. small daughter.
He posted photos on his social media accounts of Lake posing with drag queens and screenshots of his conversations with her.
The feud between the gubernatorial candidate and the prominent drag queen drew national attention and put Lake on the defensive two weeks before early voting in Arizona’s primary begins on Aug. 2.
It also fuels a persistent criticism of Lake’s conversion from Barack Obama donor to Donald Trump conservative.
“They kicked God out of the schools and welcomed the Drag Queens,” Lake tweeted Friday night. “They removed our flag and replaced it with a rainbow. They seek to disarm Americans and militarize our enemies. Let’s get back to basics: God, guns and glory.”
The next morning, Stevens responded on social media: “I have performed for her. I have acted for her family. I have met her children. I have been to her house, and I have her private phone number and her private Facebook account.”
He told The Associated Press on Monday that he kept in touch with Lake and privately defended her even as she ran a far-right campaign that he disagreed with. But when he turned to attacking drag queens, he said, “This hypocrisy really pissed me off.”
“I was personally offended by that tweet,” Stevens said.
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