The Center Orlando canceled the Drag Queen Story Hour that was set for this Saturday after a series of threatening tweets. 

What You Need To Know

  • The first in-person event since COVID was cancelled

  • The group was planning on distributing the book titled, "It's Ok to be Different"

  • The center says that it is working with local police on the matter

Rep. Anna Eskamani called on Floridians to stand together in opposition to the threats on Twitter.

“These threats of violence targeting both the LGBTQ+ community and Jewish community have become all too common in the United States and in Florida. We must stand together — across party lines — to oppose this hatred and bigotry,” she said.

George Wallace, CEO of The LGBT+ Center, shared they’ve held this Drag Queen Story time event since 2019 and while they’ve always had protesters, it was always peaceful. However, he says things are changing, and it has him concerned. Wallace has a shipment of books that now won’t be needed. 

“The unique things about our drag queen story hour is that every kid leaves with a book about love and acceptance,” said Wallace. “This book was going to be read… ‘It’s Ok To Be Different by Todd Parr.’”

Wallace said the center made the hard decision to cancel the event, which would have been their first in person Drag Queen Story Hour since the pandemic. 

 “Cancelling it was not taken lightly. It was a safety issue,” said Wallace. 

On Twitter, The Center was tagged in a twitter thread about the sold out event that raised red flags. 

“The thread on Twitter that we saw was unlike anything we have seen in the past. Fifty to Seventy protesters that align with Neo-Nazi organizations and threats of violence so we couldn’t feasibly have children in the building for safety reasons,” said Wallace. 

Wallace shared that these story times are not new and have been held across the county for years, describing them as fun and innocent. 

“Parents are in the room and it is a drag queen reading stories of love, tolerance and acceptance, which are things every child should be taught,” said Wallace. 

Wallace says although this event was cancelled, they are grateful for the outpouring of community support as they regroup and decide on the next steps. 

“People want the event to happen and it will,” said Wallace. 

Wallace shared they are still deciding whether it will be safe to host the event in this building here in the future. They are working with a liaison with the Orlando Police Department to discuss what the safest options are. In a statement, a spokesperson for OPD said they are maintaining a presence in the area.​