Students Sue for Discrimination Over Canceled Drag Show

The canceling of a drag show at West Texas A&M University has led to a lawsuit for discrimination, claiming a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment.

The lawsuit was filed Friday by two students and an on-campus LGBTQ group Spectrum WT against West Texas A&M school officials, including the president, the board, and the university system.

“Canceling the student group’s charity drag show is textbook viewpoint discrimination,” the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression lawsuit filed for two students and the LGBTQ group read.

Spectrum WT, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, had scheduled a drag show for Friday that was canceled by school President Walter Wendler, who denounced drag shows as degrading to women.

“I believe every human being is created in the image of God and, therefore, a person of dignity,” Wendler wrote in an email to students.

“Does a drag show preserve a single thread of human dignity? I think not.”

The cancellation sparked protests with LGBTQ Pride flags and signs like: “Women for Drag,” “Drag is Rad,” and “Everybody Say Love.”

Protesters have circulated a petition, which has more than 12,000 signatures for Wendler to restore the drag show and resign as university president, The Hill reported.

“President Wendler can skip the show if he doesn’t want to see it, but he doesn’t get to describe how people express themselves,” Spectrum WT wrote Friday in an Instagram post.

“Drag shows are constitutionally protected free expression, and President Wendler is a public official who must follow the law.”