Students protest after Macon university cancels drag show, LGBTQ+ events
Middle Georgia State University officials reportedly canceled two LGBTQ+ events on campus, including a drag show planned Thursday night.
An LGBTQ+ ally who identifies as a straight cisgender man, Dave Knapp, showed up in drag anyway — flaunting a skirt, blouse, eyeliner and half-up, half-down hairdo — and organized the protest to stand up for those impacted. Over 30 other students, performers and community members joined him in an impromptu show at an outdoor amphitheater in front of the Student Life Center.
“I started thinking about how uncomfortable it must make people feel to see their event brushed under the rug like, ‘We’re going to cancel your event last minute and only the queer events,’” Knapp, 34, told The Telegraph at the protest.
The canceled drag show was called, “ARTivism: Drag for Social Change.” It was supposed to feature four local drag queens and a king, according to a flyer posted on Instagram by Knapp’s art professor leading the event, Shannon Riddle. Another LGBTQ+ program, a discussion led by Billy Wooten, the dean of MGSU’s School of Arts and Letters, was reportedly canceled too. It was called “The Power of Illusion: Drag and Gender Performativity,” according to a school event flyer.
These were two of around 20 programs part of MGSU’s School of Arts and Letters 2025 Arts Festival, which was shaped around a theme of “The Arts and Social Change,” according to the university’s website.
“I feel like people have the mentality that this doesn’t affect me so I don’t need to do anything about it,” Knapp said. “I am a straight male, I didn’t have a dog in this fight, but I do care about freedom of expression.”
Shannon Riddle, an MGSU art professor who helped organize the event, said university officials canceled it due to “circumstances beyond our control,” according to an Instagram post Wednesday. Faculty reportedly received an email from university officials Tuesday regarding the cancellation, according to Yutoya Avaze Leon, a drag queen on the original lineup.
“My sincere apologies to the performers and all who were excited about the event,” Riddle said on Instagram. “I’m sorry, angry and sadly not surprised. Please spread the word.”
Riddle and Billy Wooten, dean of MGSU’s School of Arts and Letters, directed The Telegraph to the university’s media team in response to requests for comment. MGSU President Christopher Blake and Victoria Fowler, executive director of marketing and communications for the university, did not respond to The Telegraph’s emails and phone calls for comment.
Participants in limbo
Students and drag performers who were expected to perform at the show believed it was canceled to avoid repercussions related to programs involving diversity, equity and inclusion.
Sierra Prosecco, a queen who ended up performing at the protest, told The Telegraph it was “likely associated with anti-DEI going around, I’d assume fear of losing funding.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20, his first day in office, that aims to challenge programs in higher education and other institutions that advance equity, “including by threatening legal action, with the obvious goal of chilling their programs,” according to The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
A memo from the U.S. Department of Education on Jan. 23, reflected a similar goal to “eliminate DEI.”
However, its impacts are vague and there is no Georgia law that explicitly bans DEI initiatives from universities.
The MGSU website and an event flyer made it clear that the show would not represent sentiments of the university.
“Any wild ideas and questionable opinions expressed here are entirely their own and should not be mistaken for the views of MGSU, the (University System of Georgia) or any other sensible entity,” the flyer and University website both said.
Knapp, who is an art student, encouraged people on Facebook to show up anyway at the same place and time to protest the cancellation of the drag show.
“I will be showing up to the event as planned. I will be wearing drag. I encourage many others to do the same...,” Knapp said on Facebook. “We are seeing a scary change in the political climate that is about controlling what we think and how we express ourselves. I am diametrically opposed to this movement.”
Recent arrests nationwide have seemingly attempted to silence protesters and restrict free speech, especially of immigrants on college campuses. A slew of anti-transgender legislation, and rhetoric by Trump have targeted the transgender community nationwide.
Two of four bills that target trans people and other marginalized individuals recently passed in Georgia. People are now allowed to sue schools or colleges that let trans students play in a sports team that aligns with their gender identity, according to Senate Bill 1. Georgia also expanded the protection of religious rights, under the passage of Senate Bill 36, or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Opponents previously told The Telegraph this could be used to justify the denial of rights to marginalized individuals.
“If you love America and you love freedom, know that what is happening right now is the beginning of the end for both of those things,” Knapp said on Facebook.
The show goes on
Most attendees were shocked to see others show up with just a one-day notice via a stranger’s Facebook post.
The event featured music and a laid-back atmosphere. Some brought gay pride flags, and signs opposing Trump and advocating for trans rights. Sierra Prosecco, a local drag queen, performed a lip-sync number, and an attendee vogued around the amphitheater.
“It was basically kind of impromptu,” Knapp told The Telegraph. “I said, ‘I’m going to show up in drag at the school as an act of protest and act of solidarity for anyone LGBTQ on staff or student just to show support,’ and I wanted to see if other people would join me.”
The crowd was welcomed to hop on a microphone to share queer stories.
Hazel Moon, a local drag queen and MGSU alum, spoke about how professors and students have always made her feel included.
“It’s nice to see that the climate is still welcoming, even if the higher-ups aren’t, and its probably more political than we’re being led on to believe,” she said. “I’ve always been very openly flamboyant and no one looked at me crazy or different.”
Knapp said it was odd to cancel a drag show if the university was trying to promote social change, as its art festival theme boasted. He believed it was “targeted.”
“I feel like this is the first domino, and then if we allow it to fall, it’s just going to lead to even more things being taken, stripped away,” Knapp said.
This story was originally published April 11, 2025 at 10:56 AM.