I’M TOO SCARED TO WALK STREETS
»»LGBT performer called paedo by trolls »»She claims council scapegoated her
EXCLUSIVE
BY SALLY HIND A DRAG queen is too scared to walk the streets after being branded a “paedophile” by trolls over an event at a primary school.
Flow Job said a Scots council had made her a scapegoat.
A DRAG queen who sparked a massive outcry over an appearance at a primary school has been left too afraid to walk the streets. Flow Job – who appeared as “Flow” for an LGBT event at Paisley’s Glencoats Primary School last week – revealed she had been branded a “paedophile” online and fears for her safety. The stand-up comedian – who was born Nathan Mullen but wants to be known as Miss Mullen while transitioning to female – claims she has been made a “scapegoat” by Renfrewshire Council.
An apology was issued by the council over Flow’s appearance after complaints were made about X-rated posts on Flow Job’s social media profile.
The 21-year-old, who has worked with children in various roles, spoke of her fears over being dressed “in drag” in public following the backlash she has received.
Miss Mullen, from Clydebank, said: “The worst part was being accused of being a paedophile. People will see that and people will believe it. I’m trying to go into drag full-time and that could stop my bookings and affect my work.
“I’ve never been scared to walk the streets the way I do before. If I’m going to a gig, I get the train or the bus with full face on and it will not bother me.
“But now, after being brought into the public eye, I don’t want people to recognise me in the streets.
“I didn’t realise how many people were so against what I do until I saw the comments.
“Tonight I have to work and this will be the first time in ages I’ve had to get a taxi to a job.”
Flow was invited to Glencoats Primary alongside MSP Mhairi Black, where she read a book called Kenny Lives with Erica and Martina to primary 1-3 pupils.
The school thanked her publicly for the visit before angry parents responded with complaints.
A barrage of online abuse followed, with Miss Mullen waking up to hundreds of messages on social media.
She said: “The pupils requested a drag queen to come and read them a story book.
“They asked for me because they’d met me the year before and the school got in contact. Mhairi Black didn’t invite me to the school.
“I was offered a fee but I didn’t take one because I’d met the pupils before and I’ve done charity work before.
“I was introduced as Flow. I do children’s events all the time and I’m always introduced as Flow. I read a book about being different and a boy who had two mums. It was all about a grey town and how they brought colour into it.
“We explained to the kids that you may stand out from the crowd but it doesn’t make you different from anyone else on this planet.
“The primary 1-3 loved it. The older pupils showed me around the school and showed me their rainbow room. It was a very positive event.
“I worked with the school last year at the Paisley Pride flag ceremony but because it wasn’t in the grounds of the school, nobody really had anything to say about that.
“I’ve done youth work before with kids all the time. I’ve got full disclosure, which is checked by the school before I do any work with kids.”
The drag queen said the stage persona “Flow” is entirely different from the adult character Flow Job and when working with children there is no sexual content in the performance.
Miss Mullen said: “Teachers in school are known as Mr and Miss but they are different people out of school.
“Every entertainer has to cater for their crowd. I do stand-up mostly and you need to pick your audience and the jokes you’re going to tell.
“I’m not going to go into a school and
Miss Mullen tells of her shock at barrage of abuse after LGBT event and claims local council has made her a scapegoat
I feel I’ve been used by the council as a scapegoat
MISS MULLEN ON AFTERMATH OF SCHOOL APPEARANCE
tell the dirty jokes I tell to adults because that’s inappropriate but, if I go to read a story book to kids, there’s no harm done.”
Head teacher Michelle Watson wrote on social media this week that she and her staff had also been subjected to “truly awful” abuse since Flow’s visit.
Miss Mullen said: “I know the school had to put their account to private and the head deleted one of her accounts. We’ve all been affected by this. “But I do feel like I’ve been used by the council as a scapegoat. I feel like it’s all been directed my way, when all I did was go to do a job. “When people saw the photo of me at the school, they went out of their way to look for my account. “I went to bed that night and woke up to more than 1000 notifications and 200 messages from random people.
“There’s always someone with something to say but I’ve never received anything like that. I’ve been affected by this a lot but I’ve tried to not show it.
“My family always say I’m so lucky growing up in this day and age but this has shown there are still people out there who don’t want these things going on.”
Renfrewshire Council yesterday apologised for the abuse levelled at Flow, saying it “takes responsibility” for what happens at its school.
The local authority had by yesterday received seven official complaints over Flow’s appearance – one of which was from a parent with a child at the school.
It was confirmed the school’s social media account was locked after Flow’s visit due to the nature of some comments.
The council said: “We take responsibility for what happens in our schools and are very sorry for the negative attention Flow has received. As we’re investigating the circumstances, we can’t comment further at this time.”