An apparent wardrobe malfunction exposed a drag queen’s genitals during a performance at an event in Columbia, South Carolina, on Tuesday, a local outlet reported.
The city’s National Night Out event, hosted annually on the first Tuesday of August, featured the drag show, according to ABC 15 News. Video shows Tige Watts, a drag queen and former president of the city’s neighborhood association, with his private parts exposed, dancing at an event where children can be seen present. (RELATED: American Academy Of Pediatrics Calls For ‘Systemic Review’ Of Their Own Guidance Of Trans Kids)
“I was so appalled that this was a city-sponsored event,” one anonymous city resident told the outlet. Another resident in the crowd said, “I don’t have kids, but if I did I wouldn’t want them to ever see anything like that.”
ICYMI: Some residents are upset in a South Carolina community following a drag show wardrobe mishap at a National Night Out event Tuesday. https://t.co/n3YTxDy84W pic.twitter.com/H7HoeBCVFJ
— WPDE ABC15 (@wpdeabc15) August 4, 2023
Watts responded to the apparent wardrobe malfunction, saying, “The simple fact that someone would assume the absolute worst when we had nothing but the best of intentions.”
“I would’ve appreciated a little more understanding and a little less jumping to conclusions,” Watts continued.
According to a website for community development in the city, “The National Night Out Kick-off is a community wide event held to kick-off individual neighborhood national night out events that focus on safety and crime, drug and violence prevention in the City.”
The website also says that the event is hosted, “in collaboration with the City of Columbia’s Police Department and Parks and Recreation Department.”
Authorities say nothing illegal took place at the event, and the Columbia Police Department has denied any involvement in planning the event.