US: University cancels comedy show after lawmaker accuses it of ‘recruiting’ lesbians
A Republican state senator in South Carolina has accused a one-woman comedy play of ‘recruiting’ lesbians, forcing a performance to be cancelled.
Backlash forced the cancellation of ‘How To Be A Lesbian In 10 Days Or Less’, after Senator Mike Fair told TV News station WYFF that the satirically-titled one-woman comedy show was unacceptable and should not be held at a university.
The show was booked to be held at University of South Carolina Upstate University, which had $17,000 (£10,200) of funding slashed by Republican lawmakers including Fair in February for stocking ‘gay books’.
Fair said: “That’s not an explanation of ‘I was born this way’, that’s recruiting. It’s just not normal.”
“If they’ve got extra money sitting around to promote perversion, obviously they’ve got more money than they really need.”
According to its website, ‘How To Be A Lesbian In 10 Days Or Less’ is “an exploration of self-discovery and first love, coming out, lesbian sex, queer politics, and a really important Reba McEntire song ”
Tammy E Whaley, the assistant vice chancellor for USC Upstate released a statement confirming the show had been cancelled, which said: “The title of ‘How to Become a Lesbian in 10 Days or Less’, while deliberately provocative, is satirical in nature but has not been received as such.
“The controversy surrounding this performance has become a distraction to the educational mission of USC Upstate and the overall purpose of the Bodies of Knowledge symposium. As a result, we have cancelled this segment of the symposium.”
Watch a trailer for the show below:
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