Yuengling sponsors venue hosting PA Pride drag show for families

Update: On June 16th, Yuengling tweeted a response to the controversy, indicating that the attendance for the June 30th show is now restricted to 18+.

Original story follows:

Beer brand Yuengling is reportedly sponsoring a venue hosting a drag show for all ages in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to celebrate Pride month.

"Need your drag fix before our iconic Musikfest Drag Show?" the festival's Facebook page wrote on June 12th. "Well, the queens return to Musikfest Cafe pres. by Yuengling on June 30th!" 



"Draggin’ with the Divas is a drag show featuring music performed by some of our favorite Queens covering Queens. Hosted by Elektra Fearce St. James," the event's page states.

Musikfest is selling tickets to the event through ArtsQuest, a nonprofit based in Bethlehem "providing access to art, culture and educational programs for the diverse residents of the Lehigh Valley and others who seek access to our community."

ArtsQuest’s ticket policies state that "all persons entering a venue, including babies in arms, must have a ticket." It also states that "attendance of children under 2 years of age may not be recommended for some performances." 

 

Tim Pool highlighted that the show allowed babies to attend during a show on Wednesday, saying that a member notified him of the event. After some digging, he found the venue's question and answer page and confirmed that the event is "family-friendly."

In a Twitter post, Pool highlighted the portion that says "including babies in arms."  

"Venue confirms Drag show allows babies, is still happening, they do not know why the tweet was deleted," Pool said in another tweet. While Musikfest's tweet was deleted, the Facebook post remains published.

The show's panel questioned whether Yuengling was going the route of Bud Light or whether they sponsored the Music Festival and the venue used their name inappropriately for this drag show. 

After Bud Light partnered with TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney, due to boycotts, their parent company, Anheuser-Busch, has lost $27 billion in market value from the beginning of the controversy in May as of a June 2nd report. May was the worst month ever on record for the beer brand. 

The effects of the boycotts have seemingly caused other brands to tread carefully when it comes to supporting Pride initiatives. After controversy over their pride display, Target moved their items to the back of the store and took some items off their website to avoid a "Bud Light Situation." 

However, Target has since lost $15 billion in market cap since the controversy broke. 

It was recently reported that even Seattle brand Starbucks had banned Pride displays in their stores. The Starbucks Workers United group complained, "Taking a cue from Target, who bowed to anti-LGBTQ+ pressure and removed pride merchandise, corporate and district management are taking down the pride decorations that have become an annual tradition in stores." Starbucks corporate has denied the allegations.