The Hyatt Regency Miami’s alcohol license is being revoked by the DeSantis administration after hosting “A Drag Queen Christmas” that contained minors in the audience.
On Tuesday, The Department of Business and Professional Regulation filed a 17-page complaint against Hyatt’s James L. Knight Center, where the event was hosted. “A Drag Queen Christmas” is a popular holiday drag tour that shows in 36 cities and features queens from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The show requires any attendee under the age of 18 to be accompanied by an adult.
Florida’s state business department accused Hyatt’s James L. Knight Center of numerous violations, including “lascivious exhibition” before people younger than 16. The department said performers were “wearing sexually suggesting clothing and prosthetic female genitalia,” and simulating masturbation.
Hyatt Regency Miami will be permitted to continue selling alcohol until the department makes a final decision. Beth Pannell, a spokeswoman for the department, told Insider, that the business has 21 days to request a hearing.
Amir Blattner, the general manager for Hyatt Regency Miami, also spoke to Insider and said that the hotel’s liquor license was still in effect and said that the hotel was reviewing the complaint. A third-party operator manages the Knight Center’s programming and ticketing while the hotel provides food and beverages concessions, Blattner added.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who has both spear-headed and supported anti-gay and anti-trans legislation, unsurprisingly supported the license revocation.
“How far will he take this anti-LGBTQ crusade in his desperate attempt to outrace his inevitable presidential primary opponents? Will he raid movie theaters because parents take their teenagers to see R-rated movies? Will he punish electronics stores because parents buy their children certain video games? How many businesses will DeSantis target, how many families will he force to co-parent with the government in his quest to manufacture right wing hysteria that he can monetize and weaponize?” asked Brandon Wolf, a spokesman for Equality Florida, an LGBTQ rights organization.
