This past summer, Drag Official posted an article regarding Mimi Imfurst standing up to anti-gay protesters at Philadelphia Gay Pride in June. Though many praised the Season 3 RuPaul's Drag Race contestant for her actions, the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee was less supportive and warned Mimi that her behavior could lead to an arrest.
Last week, a further development in the controversy emerged when Mimi announced in a Facebook post that she had been banned from performing at the annual Outfest celebration in Philadelphia due to these actions. Mimi posted a letter to her Facebook fans on October 3rd to inform them of the decision, also summarizing the events that happened back in June ultimately leading to her ban.
While queens like Willam Belli and Vicky Vox have thrown their support her way, representatives of the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee had a very different story to tell..
Last week, a further development in the controversy emerged when Mimi announced in a Facebook post that she had been banned from performing at the annual Outfest celebration in Philadelphia due to these actions. Mimi posted a letter to her Facebook fans on October 3rd to inform them of the decision, also summarizing the events that happened back in June ultimately leading to her ban.
While queens like Willam Belli and Vicky Vox have thrown their support her way, representatives of the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee had a very different story to tell..
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Here are the more important points from Mimi's Facebook post:
OUTFEST is a Philadelphia Tradition. It is the nation’s largest National Coming Out Day Celebration, presented by Philly Gay Pride. It’s a large outdoor festival where the community comes together to celebrate being proud of being LGBT and out. There are vendors and entertainment including a large outdoor stage and it is tradition that all the bars in the gayborhood get a time-slot to entertain. This year, the bar in Philadelphia that I work for: Voyeur Nightclub, and its brother bar Woody’s were invited to perform, under the stipulation that I not be a part of it. I have been informed that I have been banned from OUTFEST by the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee for my actions at Philly Gay Pride in the summer. What did I do? I will tell you.
Every year, without fail, there is always a Christian right protestor. Unfortunately for us in the LGBT community, we know the sight all too well with their GOD HATES F*GGOTS signs and loudspeaker in tote. I understand their right to protest on behalf of their religious beliefs, but I also believe in my right to counter protest their presence on what is supposed to be a celebration of love and a call for equality.
This year was no different- at the end of the parade route there were 2-3 of these guys (a rather poor showing of “God’s Army” if you ask me) so I grabbed a large rainbow flag from a stranger and held it up blocking the protestors from view of the crowd. Once the attendees of the pride celebration saw what I did they applauded my actions. A Philly Gay Pride official was upset that this was getting attention and had the police ask the stranger I borrowed the flag from to ask for it back. She of course did, and I’m not really into stealing, so I gave it back. Philly Gay Pride asked me walk away and said that they didn’t want me to draw attention to the protestors. I explained to them that it was my first amendment right and that I do not believe in walking away. I do not believe that you should have to just be quiet and behave when fighting for equality. I then noticed that the protestor's speaker was smaller than my purse, and knowing how sound works, I held my purse 2 inches away from their speaker (being sure not to touch it) and of course in doing so my purse reflected the sound back into their speakers and you could not understand a single hate word the protestor was saying. This drew more attention and the Philly Gay Pride Official called for another person to get the police. THEY THEN THREATENED TO ARREST ME for being DISORDERLY in PUBLIC! That’s right! THE PHILADELPHIA GAY PRIDE COMMITTEE TRIED TO HAVE ME ARRESTED FOR STANDING UP FOR GAY RIGHTS AT A GAY PRIDE EVENT.
OUTFEST is a Philadelphia Tradition. It is the nation’s largest National Coming Out Day Celebration, presented by Philly Gay Pride. It’s a large outdoor festival where the community comes together to celebrate being proud of being LGBT and out. There are vendors and entertainment including a large outdoor stage and it is tradition that all the bars in the gayborhood get a time-slot to entertain. This year, the bar in Philadelphia that I work for: Voyeur Nightclub, and its brother bar Woody’s were invited to perform, under the stipulation that I not be a part of it. I have been informed that I have been banned from OUTFEST by the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee for my actions at Philly Gay Pride in the summer. What did I do? I will tell you.
Every year, without fail, there is always a Christian right protestor. Unfortunately for us in the LGBT community, we know the sight all too well with their GOD HATES F*GGOTS signs and loudspeaker in tote. I understand their right to protest on behalf of their religious beliefs, but I also believe in my right to counter protest their presence on what is supposed to be a celebration of love and a call for equality.
This year was no different- at the end of the parade route there were 2-3 of these guys (a rather poor showing of “God’s Army” if you ask me) so I grabbed a large rainbow flag from a stranger and held it up blocking the protestors from view of the crowd. Once the attendees of the pride celebration saw what I did they applauded my actions. A Philly Gay Pride official was upset that this was getting attention and had the police ask the stranger I borrowed the flag from to ask for it back. She of course did, and I’m not really into stealing, so I gave it back. Philly Gay Pride asked me walk away and said that they didn’t want me to draw attention to the protestors. I explained to them that it was my first amendment right and that I do not believe in walking away. I do not believe that you should have to just be quiet and behave when fighting for equality. I then noticed that the protestor's speaker was smaller than my purse, and knowing how sound works, I held my purse 2 inches away from their speaker (being sure not to touch it) and of course in doing so my purse reflected the sound back into their speakers and you could not understand a single hate word the protestor was saying. This drew more attention and the Philly Gay Pride Official called for another person to get the police. THEY THEN THREATENED TO ARREST ME for being DISORDERLY in PUBLIC! That’s right! THE PHILADELPHIA GAY PRIDE COMMITTEE TRIED TO HAVE ME ARRESTED FOR STANDING UP FOR GAY RIGHTS AT A GAY PRIDE EVENT.
Mimi then went on to tell us that the Philly Gay Pride committee had since seemed to change their reasoning for the ban, yet still upholding it. She writes:
They then tried to backtrack on the events at Philly gay pride, by trying to say they were also upset with a comment I made on Facebook. (What are we? 12 years old?) I had criticizing their decision to hire Omarosa as the headliner and grand martial of pride. I criticized their programming saying it was a weak choice for a pride festival as their only major act and headliner. I also thought it was wildly inappropriate to name Omarosa grand martial considering her ONLY track record on LGBT issues was gay-baiting a fellow contestant on Celebrity Apprentice.
To try and back-track and claim this as the reason for banning me is completely absurd. Even if it were the only reason here is what that says: A) that you support hiring someone to be your grand martial (Omarasa was paid to both headline and grand martial) whose only track record on LGBT issues is gay-bating on national television B) that you think that anyone who disagrees with your entertainment choices is a bad person and C) that you have a rather immature mentality to be upset by something on Facebook.
She goes on to call for "the immediate resignation of Franny Price and any other board members of the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee for their actions." Mimi then turned her pleas to her fellow Philadelphia drag queens a request to boycott the OUTFEST performances and future Pride performances. Mimi writes, "I am asking my sisters to reject any invitations to perform on their stage at OUTFEST," stating that to do so would only show support for the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee's actions. Her third request appealed to a much more general population; that of her LGBT and Ally community, when she asked that anyone who would like to show their support for her do so by contacting the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee:
If you are upset by this and you support me, please email [email protected] and let them know that their actions ARE NOT OKAY. You can also call them at 215-875-9288.
They then tried to backtrack on the events at Philly gay pride, by trying to say they were also upset with a comment I made on Facebook. (What are we? 12 years old?) I had criticizing their decision to hire Omarosa as the headliner and grand martial of pride. I criticized their programming saying it was a weak choice for a pride festival as their only major act and headliner. I also thought it was wildly inappropriate to name Omarosa grand martial considering her ONLY track record on LGBT issues was gay-baiting a fellow contestant on Celebrity Apprentice.
To try and back-track and claim this as the reason for banning me is completely absurd. Even if it were the only reason here is what that says: A) that you support hiring someone to be your grand martial (Omarasa was paid to both headline and grand martial) whose only track record on LGBT issues is gay-bating on national television B) that you think that anyone who disagrees with your entertainment choices is a bad person and C) that you have a rather immature mentality to be upset by something on Facebook.
She goes on to call for "the immediate resignation of Franny Price and any other board members of the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee for their actions." Mimi then turned her pleas to her fellow Philadelphia drag queens a request to boycott the OUTFEST performances and future Pride performances. Mimi writes, "I am asking my sisters to reject any invitations to perform on their stage at OUTFEST," stating that to do so would only show support for the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee's actions. Her third request appealed to a much more general population; that of her LGBT and Ally community, when she asked that anyone who would like to show their support for her do so by contacting the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee:
If you are upset by this and you support me, please email [email protected] and let them know that their actions ARE NOT OKAY. You can also call them at 215-875-9288.
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Mimi's appeal to her community has certainly been noticed. The original post on her page has been shared directly via Facebook 150 times and has become a hot topic on many other social media sites including Tumblr and Twitter. Among the thousands of others talking about this incident, Vicky Vox and Willam Belli both voiced their fervent support for Mimi and her actions. In a statement on her own Facebook account Vicky Vox had this to say:
I stand by my homegirl! Mimi Imfurst you got this!!!!! Philadelphia, I love you but you definitely fucked up!!! She was hurting no one and defending many. I also think it's funny that they still use an aol email account!
This is the same reason I dislike the noh8 campaign.... Do not go quietly. Follow the law but you are allowed to have a voice!!!
Willam Belli showed her support in his tweet:
I stand by my homegirl! Mimi Imfurst you got this!!!!! Philadelphia, I love you but you definitely fucked up!!! She was hurting no one and defending many. I also think it's funny that they still use an aol email account!
This is the same reason I dislike the noh8 campaign.... Do not go quietly. Follow the law but you are allowed to have a voice!!!
Willam Belli showed her support in his tweet:
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On Friday, Drag Official spoke with a Philadelphia Gay Pride committee representative to hear what they had to say regarding the situation. While they have not yet made an official statement regarding the controversy, they did give their side of the story. According to the representative, Mimi was not banned from any OUTFEST events, she just was not invited to perform on any OUTFEST stage due to her actions at the Philadelphia Gay Pride festival. As Mimi mentioned in her letter, the actions they alluded to were not those of her counter protest, but of her outspoken opposition to grand marshall and headliner Omarosa. When we asked if their decision was influenced by the counter protest she staged at the Pride event, the representative told us that they did not factor that into their decision, and in fact were only trying to keep Mimi from being arrested. They also informed us that they are trying to set up a meeting to talk with Mimi about the situation.
This past Thursday at her weekly Philadelphia show, the Dollhouse Revue, Mimi spoke briefly on the controversy. After denouncing the actions of the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee, she announced that there were plans in action to set up an "alternative entertainment option" on the day of OUTFEST, which will be open to any and all who support getting loud and proud to stand up for equality. Here are the details on the event, Wig Out Philly.
So, whose side are you on? Let us know what you think! If you support Mimi, let her know on Twitter or Facebook!
This past Thursday at her weekly Philadelphia show, the Dollhouse Revue, Mimi spoke briefly on the controversy. After denouncing the actions of the Philadelphia Gay Pride committee, she announced that there were plans in action to set up an "alternative entertainment option" on the day of OUTFEST, which will be open to any and all who support getting loud and proud to stand up for equality. Here are the details on the event, Wig Out Philly.
So, whose side are you on? Let us know what you think! If you support Mimi, let her know on Twitter or Facebook!
