AZ-GOV: 'She's thrown away my friendship': Drag queen calls out Kari Lake for hypocrisy
One of the Phoenix area's best-known drag queens is calling his former friend — Republican candidate for governor Kari Lake — a hypocrite after Lake weighed in on drag performances, the latest front in the conservative culture war.
Richard Stevens, who has performed for 25 years as Barbra Seville, said he was disappointed and decided to speak out after Lake tweeted Friday that "they kicked God out of schools and welcomed the Drag Queens. They took down our Flag and replaced it with a rainbow."
Stevens shared pictures and texts from Lake in several social media posts and said Lake had attended countless shows and private events over the decades of their friendship. He said he had performed as Marilyn Monroe in front of Lake's daughter when she was 9 or 10 years old.
"She's picked a side in the culture war, but her actions in the past don't support it," Stevens said in an interview. "Of course my feelings are hurt, but it just proves that she is a hypocrite. ... She's thrown away my friendship with her to get votes from people that would rather hate gays or hate drag queens."
Stevens is one more critic to say Lake is new to such conservative beliefs, accusations that have dogged Lake's year-old campaign and offered opportunity for her opponents to attack. Lake is running a Donald Trump-inspired campaign to replace Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and has used false claims the 2020 election was stolen as a signature talking point.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/06/18/arizona-drag-queen-barbra-seville-calls-out-kari-lake-for-hypocrisy/7674085001/
