Chris Lange, FISM News

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The Boise Pride Festival took place in Idaho over the weekend without the promised “Drag Kids” performances. The LGBTQ group scrapped the event after at least five sponsors withdrew their support and several others publicly criticized the performance that promised to feature children as young as 11 years old.

The festival’s original schedule listed that the “Drag Kids” performance would take place Sunday, but the group announced in a Thursday tweet that organizers had made the “difficult decision” to “postpone” the performance, citing “increased safety concerns.”

Billed as a“drag show like none other,” the pamphlet informed prospective festivalgoers that its “Drag Kids range from ages 11–18 and are ready to bring it all to the Boise Pride Festival stage.”

“You have watched the Queens and Kings and now it is time to see the Kids,” a pamphlet promoting the event read.

On Friday morning, Boise Pride Fest sponsor J.R. Simplot Company issued a statement opposing the “Drag Kids” event, the Daily Wire reported.

“The J.R. Simplot Company is aware of some concerns from community members and Simplot customers about our support of the Boise Pride Festival and subsequent programming associated with that event,” read the statement from Simplot. “We do not condone any activity or event that may be perceived to exploit or take advantage of children or any other segment of the population.” The company also expressed ongoing support for its “LGBTQi+ employees.”

Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow and City Journal contributing editor Christopher Rufo slammed the Boise Pride Fest’s suggestion that the cancellation was occasioned by “safety concerns,” writing in a tweet that the group “did not provide any evidence for alleged ‘safety concerns.”

Rufo drew attention to the planned performance last Tuesday, which apparently instigated the abrupt sponsor pullout.

“This is a common technique when left-wing organizations get caught promoting something awful: they scream ‘harassment’ rather than take responsibility for their actions. Such claims are often baseless,” Rufo wrote.

Despite the cancellation, Boise Pride made it clear that they have not ruled out a future kids’ drag performance.

“They are brave, beautiful and deserve their chance to be in the spotlight, and we want to give that to them at a later date,” Riley Burrows, co-producer and host of Drag Kids, was quoted as saying in the cancellation notice.

This article was also informed by a Breitbart report.