On Rotation Brewery and Kitchen on Lemmon Avenue canceled its scheduled drag show last Sunday after receiving a wave of calls, negative Yelp reviews and comments on social media "with the end goal of damaging our business," according to a post on the brewery's Instagram page.
The brewery announced on Saturday that it would cancel the event after being "targeted by Texas-based groups for hosting a drag show."
"The show we hosted was a fun, casual event that many of you have enjoyed in the past few months," the post reads. "It's been part of birthday celebrations, bachelorette parties, out-of-town reunions and more. And we've served you all the mimosas."
Then On Rotation Brewery started getting angry, threatening calls from people who objected to the show not having an "explicit age limit." The brewery instituted an age limit, but the calls and threats did not stop. The post mentioned that certain "organizations" are behind the deluge of calls and threats but declined to publicly identify them.
Attempts were made to reach a representative of the brewery but messages were not returned.
"We've seen some of the most atrocious things in the messages we've received — truly much worse than anything that's been said or seen at the shows we hosted," the post says. "The organizers will call it 'pressure' and that they are 'having their voice heard.' But we recognize these tactics for what they are — bullying and harassment."
On Rotation's Yelp page has been flagged due to "unusual activity" from commenters. The brewery still has a 5-star rating by a wide margin, but some anti-trans posts are still on the page.
"The ambience is what you would expect from a cheap hipster brewery and they want to show your kids sexual content," wrote Trey B. of Olney, Texas, on the Yelp page. "Wouldn't recommend unless your last name is Epstein or Clinton."
The positive comments on the Yelp page, however, far outweigh the negative ones.
"The owner is one of the most professional and respectable persons I have met," wrote Justin B. of Dallas. "I have seen him handle some of the craziest people without raising his voice or getting frustrated. He has the patience of a saint. Plus now that OR [sic] has triggered the right wing GQP [sic] nutjobs and extremists I will definitely be coming back weekly!"
Screenshot from Yelp
"At our core, On Rotation is a safe, welcoming place for all in the community to connect around beer & food," the post says. "We have to prioritize safety in this moment though it pains us to see a bully win."
Drag shows across North Texas have been harassed over the past few months. Denton's Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio had to cancel its Glitterbomb drag event last September after the space received threats on the phone and social media, including one Tweet that called the people attending the event "a bunch of pedophiles."
The Mr. Misster lounge in Uptown became a national target for conservative pundits and politicians like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene over a family-friendly drag show held last June. Greene posted on Twitter that, "Protecting your children from drag queen child predator is not a hate crime. It's being a good parent."
