A rightwing University of Queensland student group has been caught on film attacking a drag queen storytelling event at a Brisbane library.
In videos posted online on Sunday, the small group of students can be heard yelling “Drag queens are not for kids” at the event at the Brisbane Square library on Sunday morning. The event was organised with Rainbow Families Queensland and was hosted by two drag performers, Queeny and Diamond.
One half of the Veronicas, Jess Origliasso, posted two videos of the protest on Instagram, telling her 319,000 followers she was “heartbroken and furious”.
The protest was organised by the UQ Liberal National Club, whose president, Wilson Gavin, can be seen in the video. It was widely reported that Gavin died on Monday morning.
The UQ Liberal National Club is no longer linked to the Liberal National party, which last month resolved to disendorse it.
Security and police were called after the protest, which occurred at the end of the event.
One of the storytellers, Johnny Valkyrie, who performs as Queeny, posted on Facebook that the two performers were blue card-registered for working with children and had more than five years’ experience in youth work and education. They said children had been crying during the protest, and the protesters had made “vilifying comments against LGBTQIA+ people”.
“This was planned and targeted at me. It hurt and affected so many others. I am sorry.”
Rainbow Families Queensland said children attending the event had been enjoying it until the protest. The event has been held four times in Brisbane over the past two years without incident.
“Love makes a family,” said the Rainbow Families Queensland coordinator, Holly Zwalf. “There’s no room for hate in our hearts.”
The Liberal National councillor Vicki Howard said on Facebook the storytelling event represented the values of Brisbane city council and the protesters had nothing to with the Liberal National party.
“The small group of people involved in this completely inappropriate display do not in any way represent how we as a council and the LNP feels, and it will not and never will be tolerated. They are not a part of the LNP.”
In a Facebook post, the UQ Liberal National Club said the protest was about “taking a stand against a corrosive gender ideology” and that the group had left when directed by security.
On Monday afternoon, UQ would not confirm Gavin’s death but released a statement saying, “The University understands that the events of the past two days are very distressing for many people. Our priority is to provide support for our students and staff who have been impacted. Mutual respect and diversity are core values of the University, and we hope that everyone shows consideration for those affected during the difficult days ahead.”
