Drag shows haven’t just colonized our schools and military bases. Now, they’ve even come to Taco Bell.
A New York Times’ headline on Friday: “At Taco Bell, the Drag Brunch Goes Corporate: The glittery live shows have long been a staple in many cities, but the fast-food chain is taking that a step further.”
Yes, it appears that after sexing up some school campuses and military grounds, the drag queen crowd has sold out and gone corporate. That’s clearly the concerning element here; I don’t know about you, but I want my drag brunches to be indie or I’m not going.
(Here at The Western Journal, we’ve noted the creeping influence of drag events in family spaces where, just 10 years ago, they would have unnerved and infuriated people across the political spectrum. We’re not just going to give in to cultural currents, either — despite the fact Big Tech wants to silence any outlet that dares question the LGBT agenda. If you’re with us, you can help our efforts by subscribing.)
First announced in April, the “drag brunch” has already had shows at Taco Bell restaurants in Chicago, Las Vegas and Nashville, according to the Times. The remaining shows, according to a news release on the Taco Bell website, are scheduled for New York’s Times Square on June 12 and in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 26.
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The events are held at Taco Bell Cantina restaurants — which sell alcohol — and are limited to those 18 and over.
Tickets were first made available to those holding Taco Bell “Fire Tier” membership — a rewards program for “the brand’s most loyal customers,” the Times said.
At a Chicago event, the Times’ Erik Piepenburg wrote, all 550 tickets were taken up by Fire Tier members.
The event was hosted by drag performer Kay Sedia (que-sadilla, get it?), who used a Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito in place of a microphone.
Would you boycott Taco Bell over this?
According to the Times, Miss Sedia — legal name Oscar Quintero — was “wearing a frilly, skintight frock with the Taco Bell logo on the belly” during the performance.
“In the 45-minute show, Kay Sedia sassed the crowd (mostly young, mostly white) and danced with her fellow performers: the drag king Tenderoni and the queens Miss Toto and Aunty Chan, who tore it up as a hard-pressed Taco Bell cashier in a lip-synced mash-up of ‘She Works Hard for the Money’ and ‘9 to 5,’” Piepenburg wrote.
“On diners’ tables, a shimmering box held a burrito (sausage, bacon or veggie), a hash brown and Cinnabon Delights doughnut holes. The sound of Taco Bell’s signature ‘bong’ punctuated a drinking game.
“Skyler Chmielewski, there to celebrate her 19th birthday, was transfixed. Gripping a Taco Bell Drag Brunch-branded folding fan, she declared her first drag show ‘breathtaking.’”
“I’m at a loss for words,” Chmielewski said.
I’m sure she wasn’t alone, although reasons for speechlessness might vary. Here’s some footage from the R-rated event:
Drag queen takes orders at Taco Bell as part of Taco Bell drag brunch.pic.twitter.com/O5nLKD1LS6
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 31, 2022
Had an amazing time at the @tacobell Drag Brunch with my sisters @aunty_chan and @theemisstoto #tacobellpartner #tacobell #tacobelldragbrunch pic.twitter.com/5cSRDvgdo5
— Tenderoni (@Tender_oni) May 23, 2022
“Fans who attend the event will be immersed in an environment featuring captivating visual backdrops, craveable breakfast menu items, thrilling lip syncs and extraordinary high kicks and dips,” the Taco Bell website release states.
And it quotes a Taco Bell executive on just Fabulously Vital it all is.
“We understand the importance of creating safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community and are thrilled to provide a unique experience that spotlights and celebrates the wonderful artform of drag and its influence in culture with their chosen families,” Sean Tresvant, Taco Bell’s global chief brand officer, says in the release.
“Taco Bell Drag Brunch was concepted by Live Más Pride, Taco Bell’s LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group, which has played a major role in driving awareness of and meaningfully supporting LGBTQIA+ communities both within Taco Bell and the communities we serve and operate in.”
Mangling of the English language aside — the brunch program was “concepted“? — you may wonder why this is a big deal.
If it’s an 18-and-over event, these are adults, after all. It’s not indoctrination if they can choose to attend, right? In fact, as Piepenburg wrote, some believe, “Taco Bell’s brunch is the commercial torpedo that finally sinks a subversive art form.”
However, drag historian Joe E. Jeffreys told Piepenburg this was a “phenomenal” step in the mainstreaming of drag culture.
“It’s taken drag over a border that it hasn’t been before, to an exciting new place of accessibility,” he said.
Perhaps the take of marketing professor Gillian Oakenfull at Miami University of Ohio, whom Piepenburg talked to, states the problem more bluntly: “When it comes to queer acceptance, she said, ‘Gen Z requires it.’”
Taco Bell, like so many other corporate giants, is complying with the requirement. And yes, you can stay away from Taco Bell, something I’ve managed to do for my entire life. The problem is that the requirement to accept the LGBT agenda doesn’t stop with drag brunches at chain restaurants.
If it doesn’t extend to your workplace yet, it will. It’ll extend to your children’s schools. The media you consume, the cereal you buy, the sports women compete in: If they haven’t already, at some point they’re going to be drenched in some form of propaganda bearing the message that you need to accept — or else.
Except that you don’t need to accept the left’s continuing efforts to redefine sexuality and gender, particularly when it comes to corporate America.
There are other chains that aren’t Taco Bell, that don’t feature virtue-signaling-tastic drag brunches as part of their LGBT pride month festivities. Go to those — and, if you can, make it clear why you’re going to those.
If you’re hurting for choices, I hear there’s this little restaurant operation named Chick-fil-A that serves a heck of a sandwich and that spreads a different set of values. Just sayin’.
