A drag queen show canceled in Nantes after death threats on social networks

The Nantes bar targeted by the threats had planned to organize a drag queen show on Thursday. The managers filed a complaint.

In Nantes, a bar decided to cancel a drag show scheduled for Thursday, after receiving “a wave” of homophobic and transphobic messages on social networks, France Bleu Loire Océan learned from the owners. The bar’s management filed a complaint against three people.

The bar, frequented by the LGBTQIA+ community, had planned to organize a drag queen show on Thursday, entitled “Ma Sœur”. But on social networks, the poster of the evening, which represents people disguised as nuns and priests, was notably shared by a far-right account followed by 130,000 subscribers.

The bar then “received a flood of messages”, tells Kévin, one of the managers of the establishment, to France Bleu Loire Océan. It was “messages asking us to cancel the evening with threats, messages insulting the LGBT community and death threats”, in the comments section, under the photo, or in a private message, he continues. Management filed a complaint against three of the authors of the messages, “the most violent words in private”of the “attacks”explains Kevin.

During the week, the security of the bar was reinforced as a precaution and the show will be replaced by an evening against anti-LGBT violence, with a raffle, part of the profits of which will be donated to the NOSIG association, a Nantes LGBTQI association.

According to Vincent Marchand, one of the co-presidents of NOSIG, “Threats happen regularly in bars. However, according to him, it has been years since an establishment had to go so far as to cancel one of its events because of threats.

The Nantes association NOSIG, whose center welcomes people wondering about their health and their rights, also notes threats and speaks “tagged windows, pride marches vandalized in Nantes. In our premises, we had damage with Celtic crosses [devenu un symbole pour les mouvements d’extrême droite, ndlr] and fleur-de-lis as signatures. We are quite accustomed to this fact.”