Controversy has resurfaced about a child drag queen who performs under the name “Desmond is Amazing.” YouTube personality Blaire White – who was born male but lives as a woman – highlighted two videos of the child from a few years ago. As of today, White’s video has received over 600,000 views.
In one video, the child is seen talking with a convicted murderer. In the second video spotlighted by White, the boy is seen imitating the use of ketamine. Ketamine, or “Special K” as it is known in club circles, is used at parties and events to induce a “detached, dream-like high.” That Desmond knows what the drug is and appears to know how it is used is disturbing.
Desmond made his “professional debut” in 2014 at the age of six when he appeared in the music video for drag queen Jinkx Monsoon. A year later, his “voguing” down the street during New York City’s pride parade went viral. He is perhaps one of the most well-known young drag performers in the world, and his appearances at adult drag venues have been met with controversy.
But that’s not White’s focus in her critique of these videos. While drag culture is certainly deeply problematic, and it is a topic that The Daily Citizen has covered before, these two videos demonstrate a different type of dangerous situation. The videos show a minor child that has been seemingly exposed to illicit drug use and is on a YouTube show with a brutal killer.
In the drug video, Desmond is shown with an adult drag performer, Bella Noche, reading off some of the hate mail that he has received. The exchange, in which Desmond is in drag gear, is disturbing on many levels.
“What has the world come to?” Desmond tells the camera. “It’s come to a world where drag kids actually exist.”
“And people do ketamine on the couch,” Bella Noche interjects.
In response, Desmond takes his hand up to his face, and in an exaggerated fashion, snorts imaginary ketamine and smiles in satisfaction. The video is shocking and should be deeply concerning to any parent who views it.
White explains that drug use is very prevalent in the drag community and something that White’s seen at various events.
The other video that’s resurfaced is the one with Desmond and Michael Alig, a so-called “Club Kid” in the 1990s. Alig is well-known for his prolific drug use, wild and depraved parties, and, finally, killing and dismembering a club sponsored drug dealer, Andre “Angel” Melendez, for which he served nearly two decades in prison.
The “Club Kids” was a counterculture, LGBT party movement in the early 1990s. It was known for its outrageous events and drug use, including handing drugs out for free at wild parties. One of the club drug dealers, Melendez, got into a fight with Alig over drugs and was killed by Alig and another man, Robert “Freeze” Riggs. The body, which Alig dismembered for 10 bags of heroin, was later dumped into the Hudson River where it was eventually found by authorities.
Desmond appeared on Alig’s comedy talk show YouTube channel Peeew! in front of a painting with the word “Rohypnol” on it, which is a date rape drug. Since Alig’s release in 2014, he was arrested again in 2017 for trespassing and smoking crystal meth in a Bronx park. That’s the same year Desmond appeared on his program.
Desmond’s mother, Wendy, has said that child protective services questioned her after her son appeared at a gay bar. It’s unclear where the investigation went from there.
Hopefully, the resurfacing of these other incidences will encourage a deeper cultural conversation around what children are exposed to within the broader drag subculture. There is no reason why a child should be in a situation where drug use is prevalent or be in the presence of a man with such a sordid history of drug use, sex, excess and violence. It’s unimaginable.
Resources:
https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/children-in-drag/
https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/sex-ed-identity-crisis/
Resources When Your Child Encounters LGBT Ideology
Follow Brittany on Twitter @brittanyraymer
