Citing threats of violence, Apex cancels drag queen story hour during Pride Festival

Apex has canceled the drag queen story hour planned for its upcoming Pride Festival amid threats of violence, according to the mayor’s Facebook page.

Mayor Jacques Gilbert posted a notice Saturday explaining that he approached the Apex Festival Committee with feedback from citizens, at which point the committee decided to pull the story hour from Saturday’s pride event.

On Monday, he added a note saying he would not tolerate hate speech and would disable any further comments on the post.

“It continues to be my goal that all voices in the community are represented,” Gilbert wrote.

Town Council Member Audra Killingsworth posted a comment on Gilbert’s announcement saying the council had received numerous complaints about the story hour. In recent weeks they had escalated to violent threats sent to the festival commission, she said.

“Because of those threats, the commission decided to pull the drag queen story hour from the kids zone,” Killingsworth wrote. “I’m disappointed and frustrated, but I do want to have an amazing Pride event that is still going to feature drag performances on stage.”

Multiple comments posted before the mayor’s Monday announcement showed disappointment in the town giving into bullies.

“This was THE Pride event I was planning to attend with my toddler,” wrote Shaina Roth. “Very disappointed in the event organizers who were swayed by hateful, misguided comments.”

This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 12:08 PM.