Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick dance it out for the ACLU’s Drag Defense Fund

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick came out swinging in defense of drag performers. Swinging in the sense that the Footloose star and his wife swayed their hips while wearing t-shirts bearing the slogan “Drag is an art and drag is a right.”

In a video posted to Bacon’s Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok accounts on Sunday, the celebrity couple declared their opposition to legislation aimed at banning drag performances by dancing it out to Taylor Swift’s “Karma.”

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“These so-called laws to protect our children are unfounded and pathetic.”

“#DragBans are bad karma. Right now, drag performers and the LGBTQIA+ community need our help,” the posts’ captions read along with a link to purchase the t-shirt the couple wears in the clip through Bacon’s 501(c)3 org, Six Degrees.

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#DragBans are bad karma. Right now, drag performers and the LGBTQIA+ community need our help. Shop the @SixDegreesofKB campaign supporting the @ACLU Drag Defense Fund or make a gift https://t.co/Ef2Eiz8Mzg #DragIsARight pic.twitter.com/BUyfecVFA4

— Kevin Bacon (@kevinbacon) April 23, 2023

The video has since gone viral, with over 14 million views on Twitter and nearly four million views on TikTok.

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In a follow-up video posted to TikTok on Monday, Bacon explains that “drag is a centuries old art form of creativity, expression, and self-exploration. It’s an opportunity to educate through entertainment, and it’s not dangerous. At Six Degrees, we believe in amplifying the voices of those that are experiencing injustice, so join us in supporting the ACLU Drag Defense Fund.”

Proceeds from sales of the shirts and other merch with the same image and slogan designed by trans author Mason Kaye benefit the American Civil Liberties Union’s Drag Defense Fund.

“Kyra and I are honored to support this important fund and we welcome you to do the same,” Bacon continued, adding in the video’s caption that “Drag performers and the LGBTQIA+ community are facing unwarranted censorship and threats across the country. Like all artistic expression, drag is protected by the First Amendment and should be respected.”

@kevinbacon

Drag performers and the LGBTQIA+ community are facing unwarranted censorship and threats across the country. Like all artistic expression, drag is protected by the First Amendment and should be respected. #SixDegreesOfKB is proud to support the @aclu Drag Defense Fund and the nationwide effort to protect the drag community’s right to creative expression. Tap the link in my bio to shop or make a gift. #DragIsARight

♬ original sound – Kevin Bacon

A partnership between World of Wonder, MTV, and RuPaul’s Drag Race, the ACLU’s Drag Defense Fund supports the ACLU’s work defending LGBTQ+ rights, as state-level anti-drag legislation continues to advance across the country. After Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed the first state law in the nation banning drag performances last month, the ACLU of Tennessee issued a statement vowing to “challenge enforcement of this law if it is used to punish a drag performer or shut down a family-friendly LGBTQ event.”

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Tennessee temporarily blocked the law, ruling that “the Court finds that the Statute is likely both vague and overly-broad.” In his decision, Judge Thomas Parker wrote that the law would bar venues that host drag performances “from engaging in protected First Amendment expression” under threat of criminal penalties.

Meanwhile, Florida lawmakers recently passed legislation aimed at banning drag shows and, in the words of one state Republican, “erasing” the LGBTQ+ community. The ACLU condemned the bill, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is expected to sign, calling it “an extreme governmental overreach of power.”

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