First Up: 'Kids at drag show' case going to court

Updated April 25 – The final hearing in the case has been postponed to Aug. 1-3, court dockets show. 

An administrative law judge has set a final hearing in the state’s case against R House, the Miami restaurant targeted for hosting drag shows that children attended, for April 25-27, records show. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) is moving to revoke the establishment’s liquor license. The hearing will be held on Zoom, according to the order by Judge Darren A. Schwartz, who is based in Tallahassee. 

R House’s “drag show brunch” made news last summer when a video surfaced showing a child “walking with a drag performer dressed in lingerie,” NBC Miami reported. ‘Kids at drag shows’ soon became a conservative talking point, adding another topic to the national culture wars agenda. “These are sexually explicit drag shows – the bar had a children’s menu,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. 

“The clothing and dances typically are sexually suggestive and sometimes sexually explicit – consistent with what one would observe at an adult-themed nightclub,” the state’s complaint says. But Coral Gables attorney Jane Muir, representing R House, countered that “although some or even many people may consider it inappropriate to bring minors to a restaurant featuring revealing attire or drag performances, doing so is not illegal.”

This week, the department also filed a complaint against the Hyatt Regency Miami “over accusations that the hotel allowed minors to attend a holiday drag show at the James L. Knight Center, which is affiliated with Hyatt,” Eater Miami reported.

– Jim Rosica