Google Distances Itself From Drag Show After Employee Petition

SAN FRANCISCO — Google is distancing itself from a Pride Month drag show the company initially promoted, after employees circulated a petition opposing the event on the grounds of religious discrimination, according to reports.

Google removed an internal listing for the show — set for Tuesday at Beaux bar in San Francisco and featuring drag performer Peaches Christ — around the time the petition surfaced, CNBC reported.

In a prepared statement, a Google spokesperson said the company was proud to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and that it has regularly observed Pride by featuring drag artists, including in 2023.

“This particular event was booked by and shared within one team without going through our standard events process,” the spokesperson said. “While the event organizers have shifted the official team event onsite, the performance will go on at the planned venue — and it’s open to the public, so employees can still attend.”

Google no longer considers the Peaches Christ show a company-recognized event, CNBC reported.

A couple hundred employees signed the petition, which demanded the show’s cancelation and a public apology, according to USA Today, which reported workers took particular issue with the performer.

“Their provocative and inflammatory artistry is considered a direct affront to the religion beliefs and sensitivities of Christians,” the petition said, USA Today reported.

Peaches Christ, who has a show called Midnight Mass and has hosted a “hunky Jesus” competition, told USA Today this was the second straight year Google promoted her performance.

“This is another example of the really disturbing rise in anti-queer and anti-gay rhetoric that is using drag performers and trans people as scapegoats,” she told the newspaper.

Other Google employees objected to the petition and said it fed ongoing culture wars, according to CNBC, which added workers also opposed company leadership’s apparent response to the petition.