Council speaker rips Qns. pol for drag queen slam

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams slammed fellow Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens) on Thursday for attacks she made against a city-funded program where drag queens read stories to elementary school kids.

Earlier this week, Paladino tweeted that any schools in her Council district participating in the program — which she labeled “drag queen degeneracy” — would risk losing their funding. “Adult drag performers have NO BUSINESS in our schools, and they will not be in my district. Period,” she wrote.

Her remarks prompted a swift and sizable backlash, which culminated Thursday in the Council speaker’s rebuke.

“A New Yorker’s choice of dress, gender expression or identity must be not only protected legally, but also against vile, hateful attacks,” she said in a written statement. “Any form of hate, including transphobia, has no place in this city, and certainly not in this Council.”

In a subsequent press briefing, Adams went on to suggest that there might be further consequences, including stripping Paladino of her committee assignments.

“The Council is investigating right now Council member Paladino’s behavior, and we’re investigating our options for taking swift action,” she said.

Asked explicitly if she thinks Paladino should lose her committee assignments, Adams replied: “The Council is considering all options.”

Adams’ remarks weren’t the only criticisms directed at Paladino. Days earlier, several elected officials took to social media to sound off on her as well.

“At a time when our LGBTQ+ communities are under increased attack across this country, we must use our education system to educate,” said New York City Mayor Adams. “Drag storytellers, and the libraries and schools that support them, are advancing a love of diversity, personal expression, and literacy that is core to what our city embraces.”

“This is cruel, uninformed, and dangerous,” Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell (D-Manhattan) tweeted. “Reading a book with someone in makeup and a wig doesn’t hurt kids. Small-mindedness does.”

But despite the backlash, Paladino was not without her supporters.

“I stand with @VickieforNYC 100%,” tweeted Stefano Forte, a state Senate candidate. “Children do not need to be around drag queens, period.” The New York Young Republican Club tweeted that “children should be protected from sexualization in schools.”