Google tried to distance itself from a pre-planned drag show by longtime San Francisco performer “Peaches Christ,” but employees attended anyway. Some of them booed their employers as bowing to internal religious-led protest pressure.
jennifer elias
A drag show meant to celebrate the end of Pride month turned into a rallying cry for the corporate coalition, attended by dozens of Google employees, some of whom boos their employer.
“I don’t usually talk about these kinds of things,” said Joshua Grannell, a longtime San Francisco drag performer, who performed for him Tuesday night on a small stage at a bar near the Castro. The multi-dress show kicked off.
“The folks at Google put this together, we did this last year, it was awesome, it was fun, we had a great time,” he continued. “This year, a group of Christians at Google signed a petition asking its employees to cancel the event because they found it disturbing, offensive, and controversial.”
“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” dozens of attendees, including several Googlers wearing the company’s “proud” T-shirts, yelled.
Grannell, whose drag performer name is “Peaches Christ,” plans to perform in a drag show sponsored and promoted by Google to wrap up Pride month. However, as CNBC previously reported, the company canceled its affiliation and encouraged employees to stay away from the drag show and attend a new event at its offices. The move comes as hundreds of employees have signed a petition against the drag show, claiming it offends their Christian faith, and have lodged complaints with human resources.
The company said the campaign had not gone through the proper approval process, but did not comment on the petition.
Attendees and Grannell said they saw the change as a bow to pressure from Christian employees to petition and complain.
“People call me all kinds of things,” Grannell said of the petition on stage. “Shh!” more attendees yelled. “We’ve got your back!” an employee yelled through the crowd.
Both employees and Grannell told CNBC they were disappointed by the company’s backlash, adding that the company held a similar event last year without any issues.
Attendees described Grannell as an “icon” and “institution” in the gay community.
“I’ve been a performer in San Francisco for almost 30 years, and I’ve hired hundreds of performers and artists across the city,” Grannell told CNBC.
“Unfortunately, what’s happening at Google is actually a demonstration of the enormous hatred that’s being used across the country for drag queens and transgender people to be used as scapegoats,” he told the crowd on Tuesday, drawing more boos and yells.
Drag shows have been targeted by religious and conservative groups, as well as politicians, ahead of the 2024 presidential election.include series of legislative proposals Backed by Republican governors trying to limit drag events.
Businesses also face a backlash for pride-related marketing. Bud Light is under fire for its collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, while The North Face is in the crosshairs for drag queen Pattie Gonia Advertisement was strongly opposed. Target and Kohl’s have come under fire for pride-themed clothing.
Joshua Grannell, who goes by the stage name “Peaches Christ,” spoke about Google’s decision to distance itself from pre-planned drag shows.
jennifer elias
After Grannell’s opening monologue, he repeated that the reason for the event was to celebrate pride, before moving on to introduce the performers on a small stage at the back of the venue with rainbow-colored lights.
The first performer, wearing a Marilyn Monroe-inspired red dress, sang to Diana Ross’ upbeat rendition of “The Boss.” The next performer donned a voluminous colorful coat and danced to Gloria Gaynor’s “I’ll Live.”
Others followed suit, making unique moves of their own. Some are comedy-musical skits, while others feature dancing and lip-syncing.
After the show, Grannell said of Google’s decision to distance itself from the planned event: “For me, it’s sad to see this happen, but I also think it needs to be condemned. “If you’re going to put rainbow flags on stuff and go to queer pride parades, but don’t support your queer employees or take a stand against anti-queer sentiment, even in the name of religion, then you’re not A true ally.”
The drag performer performed a comedy skit about her love of cats while lip-syncing to Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.” The skit drew laughter from the audience.
The stakes are high for many drag performers, as some have come to rely on corporate sponsorships, Grannell said. “We’ve now created a culture where corporate alliances include paying performers and queer people to celebrate Pride month. Google has set the standard for many companies in the industry and in San Francisco,” he added.
Throughout the nearly two-hour event, attendees and employees danced, cheered and took turns carrying dollars onto the stage.
“Googlers, you guys have some work to do,” Grannell told the audience at the end of the show. “We have to keep fighting and we will win – we are on the right side of history.”
The crowd burst into warm applause and cheers.
Google did not respond to a request for comment.
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