DeSantis tries to revoke Orlando Philharmonic's liquor license over drag show
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed a complaint against the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation over a Christmas drag show.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed a complaint against the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation alleging that the nonprofit group held a sexually explicit drag show in December in the presence of minors.
The complaint, filed Friday through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco and shared with NBC News, alleges the foundation violated Florida statutes on lewdness and maintaining a public nuisance and seeks to revoke its liquor license.
The complaint is at least the second that DeSantis’ administration has filed against a venue for hosting a drag performance in the presence of minors. In July, his administration filed a similar complaint against Miami restaurant R House, citing a 1947 state Supreme Court case that found “men impersonating women” in the context of “suggestive and indecent” performances constitutes a public nuisance.
The administration cited the same decades-old case in its complaint against the foundation and argued that it is “operating and maintaining a nuisance” that injures “the health of the citizens in general” or corrupts “the public morals.”
DeSantis’ administration announced Dec. 27, the day before the foundation’s show, that it was investigating the performance after receiving “multiple complaints,” according to Bryan Griffin, the governor's press secretary.
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