The singer gave a concert last Friday in Knoxville, Tennessee, an American state whose governor is trying to pass a law banning all public performances by drag queens.
This is perhaps one of his most widely commented concerts on the news channels in the United States. The singer Lizzo who brought on stage, in the middle of her show, 19 drag queens, sparkling with sequins and rhinestones, dressed in the colors of the rainbow to dance with her in front of her audience.
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Among them were stars like Vanessa Vanjie, Aquaria and other drag queens who became famous thanks to the show DragRace. It may sound trivial, but it happened in Knoxville, Tennessee. But in this state, it is precisely the kind of thing that is about to be prohibited.
Two months ago, Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order banning all public performances by “adult cabaret” performers, in other words, drag queens. A few days later, a federal judge temporarily blocked the promulgation of this decree, considering the text too vague, but it is being rewritten and could therefore be validated.
“Please don’t act like nothing happened”
Hence Lizzo’s decision, a decision she explained to her audience directly on stage after the performance: “a lot of people told me, cancel your shows in Tennessee, don’t go, that’s okay, she says, but at the same time, why don’t I just come to the people who need it most to hear this message of support?“
She therefore not only maintained her concert, but decided to make it an hour long, a space where all artists, trans, drag queens, queer, can express themselves.”And, she adds, fat black women like me“. She laughs about it, she claims it, but before being an award-winning and recognized star, Lizzo suffered from multiple discrimination, on her skin color, on her obesity, and because she is a woman who affirms, who moreover, her right to love whoever she wants.The lyrics of her songs praise diversity, self-esteem, freedom of expression and creation.
Again, this may seem commonplace in the land of the free, “the Land of the Free“, except that many states governed by Republicans are gradually restricting all rights, passing laws banning medical follow-up for trans people, banning abortion, removing hundreds of books from libraries. Hence the hundreds of thousands of thank you messages Lizzo receives on Instagram, one of which sums up what is at stake for artists in this context: “Please don’t act like nothing happened.“.