The Madison Heights City Council voted 4-3 during a special meeting on June 1 to cancel the event planned for June 7 at Civic Center Park. According to WXYZ, some council members described the event as vulgar and overtly sexual. Organizers said the festival had been planned for five months and that every part of the story hour, including the book and performer’s outfit, had been pre-approved. Organizer Jennifer Nagle shared, “This was the first year we had the budget to book a drag performer and this was apparently far too much for some people.” The performer, Jadein Black, a K-12 teacher, defended drag story events online, writing: “Let me be clear: Drag performers are not groomers.” Black later told WXYZ, “I feel like my drag is my armour… so it hurts really bad.”
