“The DUP’s public stance on events like these has been consistent that drag performance is inappropriate for children, but its links to the organisers complicate that line.”
James is Belfast Live’s dedicated Political Reporter covering news and politics across Northern Ireland.
The Communities Minister’s attack on a family-friendly Drag Queen Story Time in East Belfast has exposed an awkward political truth for the DUP.
Gordon Lyons told the BBC this week that the Holywood Arches Library event was “not appropriate for children” and “should not have taken place.” It’s the kind of soundbite that lands well with a certain section of his party’s base. But the minister omitted that the event has been running annually since 2017, always sells out, and has attracted no formal complaints from parents or library staff.
He also didn’t mention that the EastSide Arts Festival, under whose banner the event takes place, is run by the EastSide Partnership, whose board includes several DUP councillors. Nor did he note that his party leader, Gavin Robinson, chairs EastSide Tourism. In other words, the DUP is publicly condemning an event run by an organisation in which it has a direct stake.
That contradiction might have been a political headache in itself, but this year’s protests have created a bigger problem. Lady Portia Di’Monte, the drag performer who delivered the readings, was escorted from the venue by police for her own safety after protesters gathered outside. Phoenix Law, representing her, say she has been subjected to a campaign of online abuse and false allegations so serious that defamation proceedings are now underway. The firm described the claims as “entirely unfounded, malicious, and… a deliberate effort to harm our client’s reputation.”
In her own statement, Lady Portia stressed that the ticketed event was “warm and educational”, featuring The Chronicles of Narnia, Dear Zoo, and stories celebrating diverse families, alongside inclusive games, music and a British Sign Language session. She said the PSNI were there to manage safety concerns caused by protesters, not because of any risk inside. Her message to those spreading hate was blunt, and that is that she won’t be silenced.
The DUP’s public stance on events like these has been consistent that drag performance is inappropriate for children, but its links to the organisers complicate that line. For Lyons, the question is whether this is genuinely about safeguarding or about signalling to a socially conservative audience. For the party, it is whether it can continue to occupy both spaces of denouncing an event in public while retaining influence in the structures that host it.
It also comes against the backdrop of wider debates about LGBT rights in Northern Ireland. Just weeks ago, Alan Cumming, guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live, quipped: “Why on Earth would a rapist go to the bother of pretending to be trans in a country that actually treats rapists better than trans people?” His point was about the United States, but the comparison is uncomfortable here too, while the Justice Minister is consulting on reducing sentences for some sex offenders, as LGBTQ+ people remain frequent targets of abuse and political hostility.
This is no longer just a culture-war skirmish. With legal action under way, police involvement on the day, and an increasingly visible link between political rhetoric and real-world consequences, the Drag Queen Story Time row has become a test of whether ministers can defend their positions under scrutiny and whether the DUP can reconcile its political messaging with the realities of its own connections.
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