Trump-Backed Candidate For Arizona Governor Threatens to Sue Drag Queen Who Called Her a ‘Hypocrite’ and Revealed Past Friendship

Alex GriffingJun 20th, 2022, 12:05 pm
 

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Kari Lake, the controversial Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, threatened on Sunday to sue Richard Stevens, a drag queen and former close friend of Lake who called out the Trump-backed Republican for recent comments targeting drag queens and the LGBTQ community.

“She’s picked a side in the culture war, but her actions in the past don’t support it,” Stevens told Arizona Central’s Stacey Barchenger over the weekend.

“Of course my feelings are hurt, but it just proves that she is a hypocrite. … She’s thrown away my friendship with her to get votes from people that would rather hate gays or hate drag queens,” added Stevens who posted about his past relationship with Lake on social media.

Stevens, a well-known Phoenix drag queen, posted photos and text messages with Lake showing the far-right Republican had attended “countless” drag shows and even invited Stevens to perform “as Marilyn Monroe in front of Lake’s daughter when she was 9 or 10 years old,” Barchenger reported.

Lake’s friendship with Stevens dates back decades as the former Phoenix-area news anchor was documented as having regularly partied hard at the bar where Stevens performed. Stevens decided to go public and call out Lake’s “hypocrisy” after she posted on social media last week that Democrats “kicked God out of schools and welcomed the Drag Queens. They took down our Flag and replaced it with a rainbow.”

Lake responded to Stevens’s comments on Instagram Sunday:

It is truly disgusting that this even has to be addressed, but adults should not undress in front of children or sexualize them in any way. The Media is the Enemy of the People. And frankly — the right hand of the Devil.

Lake went on to directly address Stevens in her post, echoing to anti-LGTBQ “groomer” talking points making the rounds in right-wing circles in recent months.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kari Lake (@karilake)

“Richard Stevens is a talented comedian and performer that Kari Lake covered during her TV career. Once a friend, Steven’s (also known by his stage name Barbra Seville), has now resorted to public attacks on Lake for her political views.,” the statement read, adding:

It’s worth noting that Stevens has become radicalized in recent years and has called for the death of a sitting GOP Congresswoman and has actively campaigned for Katie Hobbs.

Like most sane people, Kari Lake is very much opposed to grown men or women dancing provocatively for children, especially at the expense of the taxpayer. Why would anyone be opposed to this?

Lake went on to threaten the news media for reporting on Stevens’s comments, saying, “Why is the Media fighting so hard to defend the Grooming of our Children?”

“We encourage these outlets to remember what happened in the Nick Sandmann case and think twice about defaming Kari Lake,” she added.

Stevens’s posts revealing his past friendship with Lake quickly went viral on social. Meghan McCain weighed in over the weekend, saying, “I hope everyone is following the drama of @KariLake being absolutely dragged (with photos, texts and receipts) by famous Arizona Drag Queen Barbra Seville…”

Tags:
Alex Griffing - Senior Editor

Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing