Florida’s Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that his office has opened an investigation into a Vero Beach wine bar over a “Pride” month drag show that was held in the presence of children, a violation of state law.
In a Tuesday press release, the attorney general said that he has issued a subpoena to Vero Beach Vice Mayor Linda Moore who owns the Kilted Mermaid, the local establishment that hosted the June 29 “Pride Tea Dance” that was billed as an “all ages welcome” event “which featured adult, sexualized performers in front of children.”
“In Florida, we don’t sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults,” Uthmeier said in a post to X. “The Office of Statewide Prosecution opened an investigation into this sexualized performance to determine the extent of the content and exposure to children.”
In Florida, we don’t sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults.
The Office of Statewide Prosecution opened an investigation into this sexualized performance to determine the extent of the content and exposure to children. pic.twitter.com/FWgKf8y3ib
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) July 22, 2025
“Florida law protects children from sexualization. There is evidence that at the ‘Pride Tea Dance’ on June 29, 2025, sexualized adult performers wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children,” the statement from Uthmeier’s office reads.
(Image: Screenshot/Facebook)
“Moore and Kilted Mermaid are required to produce the necessary documents by August 8, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.,” the press release states, linking to a copy of the subpoena.
Among items sought by the subpoena are “any and all surveillance video recordings” as well as “associated logs, notes, or documents identifying camera locations, retention policies, or personnel responsible for maintaining said recordings.”
The subpoena also requests employee work schedules for the dates of June 28-June 30 and copies of documents “identifying performers, DJs, entertainers, or independent contractors who performed or provided entertainment on the premises on June 29, 2025.”
According to a Facebook post promoting the event: “This year at Kilted Mermaid, we’re throwing a Pride Tea Dance, a celebration rooted in LGBTQ+ history. Originating in the early 20th century and reimagined by the queer community, tea dances became a joyful way to gather, dance, and connect, especially when nightlife wasn’t always accessible or safe. Now? They’re a fabulous part of Pride culture, and we’re giving it the full Kilted Mermaid treatment.”
“We have the event every year; it’s our gay pride event, and it is all ages,” Moore said in a telephone interview, according to NBC News, noting that the bar has held the drag event for at least the last five years.
“It’s a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can’t stay for the show,” she said, adding that some parents want to stay so she has a policy that the early performances be “really tame,” but later when kids are gone, the show can get “a little racy,” but told the outlet that “there’s never nudity at any drag show.”
The establishment is hosting a “Big Bitch Drag Queen Bingo” event this weekend, but only for attendees 18 years old and over.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Chris Donaldson
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.bizpacreview.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
