Performers Drop Out Of Feast Festival After Homophobic Backlash

Multiple drag and burlesque performers dropped out of Feast Festival after they experienced homophobic and transphobic threats from the community.

South Australia‘s iconic premier LGBTQIA+ arts and cultural event, Feast Festival is held annually in November, and recently celebrated its 27th anniversary. Over two weekends, the event platforms queer stories through performance, film, workshops, and other community events.

Cabaret Capers, organised by performer and producer Karney Doll, was set to take place in Peterborough, a regional South Australian town in the Mid North. It was hit with unexpected challenges when organisers shared the event on a local community Facebook page, prompting multiple homophobic and transphobic people to crawl out of the woodwork and start threatening performers and community members.

“I had people saying that they wanted to take me out to the bush, my performers out to the bush to do away with them,” Karney Doll said in an interview with the ABC.

“There was hate comments towards the trans, gay community, things saying that being gay is the gateway to paedophilia, it was just really, really hurtful.”

Although she reported the comments to SA Police and hired private security for the night, about half of the performers dropped out due to safety concerns.

Unfortunately, the incident was not isolated.

Queer organisers in Burra, another rural SA town, also faced discrimination online when promoting their third annual Country Pride Picnic.

“It was really unexpected to receive this sort of pushback from the general community and it is hurtful for LGBTQIA+ people to have that negative feedback put on us, it’s just really shocking for this day and age,” Organiser and Burra local Deb Selway said.

The organisers have contacted Star Observer to clarify that the negative comments received were on a post shared by third party. They also clarified that they don’t want their beloved community event to be associated with the homophobic posts, and that in real life, the event itself was inclusive, safe, and without incident whatsoever.

Despite the negative comments received and some events having an increased security presence, both events took place without any issues.

Feast Festival Condemns Abhorrent Behaviour

Feast Festival CEO, Tish Naughton condemned the queerphobic comments.

“Feast has a zero tolerance on homophobic and transphobic abuse,” she said.

“This behaviour incites hate and currently LGBTIQA+ South Australians have no protection from vilification and hate speech under South Australian law.”

Naughton also pushed for more expansive hate speech laws to be passed in the state, similar to the ones seen in Victoria.

“All South Australians deserve to be protected against vilification and hate, and we call on the South Australian Government to make it unlawful to incite hate, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, a person or group on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, intersex status, HIV/AIDS status, disability, race or religion.”