Google tried to distance itself from a pre-planned drag show featuring the long-running “Peaches Christ” in San Francisco, but employees still attended. Some of them booed their employers for what they saw as yielding to the pressure of religiously-led protests in the country.
Jennifer Elias
The drag show, which was originally supposed to celebrate the end of Pride Month, turned into a call for corporate alliances, attended by dozens of Google employees. booed their employer.
As the multi-performer drag show kicked off Tuesday night on a small stage in a bar in the Castro District, longtime San Francisco-based drag performer Joshua Granell quipped, “I don’t normally talk about stuff like this. No,” he began.
“People who work at Google put this together and we did this last year. “And this year, a group of Christians at Google deemed the event offensive, offensive and controversial and signed a petition to have the event taken away from employees.”
“Boo!” shouted dozens of attendees, including several Google employees wearing the company’s “Pride” T-shirts.
Grannell, whose drag performer’s name is Peaches Christ, was scheduled to perform at a Google-sponsored and promoted drag show to conclude Pride Month. But for CNBC, previously reported, the company ended the partnership and instead encouraged employees to stay away from drag shows and attend new events at the office. The move comes after hundreds of employees signed a petition against the drug performance, saying it was against the Christian religion and complaining to Human Resources.
The company said the event did not go through the proper approval process, but did not comment on the petition.
Attendees and Granell said they viewed the change as yielding to pressure from petitions and complaints from Christian employees.
“I got all kinds of calls,” Granell said onstage, referring to the petition. “Boo!” cried more attendees. “We support you!” shouted one of the employees from the crowd.
Employees and Granell told CNBC they were disappointed with the company’s backtracking, adding that the company held a similar event last year without incident.
Attendees described Granel as a “symbol” and “institution” for the gay community.
“I’ve been a performer in San Francisco for nearly 30 years and employ hundreds of people, performers and artists across the city,” Granell told CNBC.
“Unfortunately at this event, what happened at Google actually shows a huge wave of hate across the country, using drag queens and transgender people as scapegoats.” He spoke to the crowd on Tuesday, which drew more boos and shouts.
Drag shows have been targeted by religious groups, conservative groups and politicians ahead of the 2024 presidential election. For that, A series of legislative proposals Endorsed by Republican governors trying to limit drug events.
Companies are also facing a backlash against pride-related marketing. Bud Light made headlines for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, while The North Face faced backlash for an ad featuring drag queen Patti Gonia. Target and Coles have been criticized for their pride-themed outfits.
Joshua Granell, who goes by the stage name “Peaches Christ,” referred to Google’s decision to distance itself from the pre-planned drag show.
Jennifer Elias
Following Grannel’s opening monologue, he reiterated that the reason for the event was to celebrate pride, and continued to introduce the performers on a small stage at the back of the venue with rainbow-colored lights.
The first performer wore a Marilyn Monroe-inspired red dress and sang along to Diana Ross’ upbeat tune, “The Boss.” The next performer wore a large multi-colored coat and danced to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
A few others followed suit, each with their own performance. Some were comedic musical skits, others featured dancing and lip-syncing.
“For me, it’s really disappointing for something like this to happen, but I also think I need to speak up,” Granel told CNBC after the show, citing Google’s distancing from the planned event. I mentioned the decision. “If you’re going to put up a rainbow flag and participate in a queer pride parade, but don’t support your queer employees and stand up against anti-queer sentiment, even in the name of your religion, then you is in an unfair position, true ally.”
Drag performers lip-synced to Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” while performing a comedy skit about their love for cats. The skit made the audience laugh.
Grannell said many of the risks are high, with some drag performers turning to corporate sponsorships. “We now, as a corporate alliance, have created a culture that includes paying performers to celebrate Pride Month and paying gays. It sets the standard for many companies,” he added.
During the roughly two-hour event, attendees and employees alike danced, cheered, and took turns walking dollar bills to the stage.
“Hey Googlers, you have work to do,” Granell told the crowd as the show ended. “We have to keep fighting and we will win – we are on the right side of history.”
Applause and cheers erupted from the crowd.
Google did not respond to a request for comment.
