Court dismisses drag theater lawsuit challenging Tennessee state law protecting minors from “sexually explicit” shows

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled in favor of a Tennessee state law that prohibits sexualized performances by adults, including some drag shows, in public and in the presence of minors.

The Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act (AEA) was passed in 2023 and prohibits topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers or male or female impersonators from performing on public property or in the presence of minors, according to the appeals court ruling. Friends of George’s (FOG), a Memphis-based theater company that daring Drag shows, challenged the AEA on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.

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The AEA prevents performances that are considered “harmful to minors.”

The appeals court dismissed FOG’s claim for lack of standing because the LGBTQ+ theater was not prosecuted under the law and did not intend to perform sexually explicit shows for children. However, the court found that the AEA complied with the First Amendment and other case law.

“There is no constitutional interest in showing indecent material to minors,” the ruling states. “Supreme Court jurisprudence on the First Amendment has recognized limitations on the speaker’s otherwise absolute interest in reaching an unlimited audience when the speech is sexually explicit and the audience may include children.”

The district court initially ruled in favor of FOG when it sued Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy in March 2023, permanently barring him from enforcing the law anywhere in his jurisdiction, according to the court ruling. Mulroy appealed the lawsuit, resulting in the appeals court ruling, which the state’s attorney general praised in a statement this week.

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“As a state full of world-class artists and musicians, Tennessee respects the right to free speech,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a press release. “But as the court found, Tennessee’s ‘harmful to minors’ standard is constitutionally sound and Tennessee can absolutely prohibit the showing of obscene material to children. The appeals court focused on what the law actually says and ordered the case dismissed.”

FOG sells tickets for its shows without distinguishing between adults and minors, the court document states. The shows themselves do not include sexual acts, but rather depictions and representations of sexual behavior.

“Friends of George’s is shocked and disappointed by the 6th Circuit’s decision,” the group’s press secretary told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Instead of examining the constitutionality of Tennessee’s drag ban, this ruling has left us and thousands of others in the LGBTQ+ community in a dangerous limbo with no clear answers about how this ban will be enforced and by whom. The only thing that is clear about this law is that it is firmly rooted in hate and defies the will of the majority of Tennesseans.”

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FOG told DCNF that they vow to continue fighting against what they consider to be “fanatical anti-trans legislation.”

While Tennessee maintains drag limits, other states like Florida are struggling to daring Performances without minors. In 2023, the Supreme Court refused to reinstate Florida’s law banning children from attending drag shows.

FOG and the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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