The war on drag landed on the doorsteps of Hamburger Mary’s WeHo earlier this month. Jeffery Bowman, the creator, producer and co-host of Legendary Bingo, which takes place at Hamburger Mary’s WeHo alleges that on Monday, March 6th, someone called the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station and falsely claimed that the popular restaurant known for their drag events, was hosting a “lewd drag act” in front of children.
“Two weeks ago, on a Monday night, someone called the police and told them that there were ‘drag queens performing lewd acts in front of children’ at Hamburger Mary’s in West Hollywood,” wrote Bowman on his weekly newsletter on bingoboy.com. “The police department sent three officers to the restaurant. Of course, no such event was happening.”
Bowman tells WeHo Times that not only was a false report made to the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station, but the caller also got their nights mixed up because there are no drag shows on Monday nights at Hamburger Mary’s WeHo. He also said he couldn’t believe West Hollywood Sheriffs felt it was necessary to dispatch three deputies on the hamburger restaurant, which basically validated the hate phone call.
Bowman says it’s a much larger picture than falsely accusing Hamburger Mary’s of using drag queens to corrupt children. He’s seeing an uptick on drag hate and it’s coming to safe LGBTQ+ spaces like West Hollywood and beyond.
“Last week I received a call from the head of Torrance Performing Arts Center who informed me that our upcoming show, which is sold out, was receiving online threats and making statements along the lines of ‘how dare you have drag queens performing lewd acts in front of children,'” he stated. “This event is called ‘Magic Bingo’ and we do our usual ten games of bingo with a couple of breaks for a magician to perform. The board of directors of the Performing Arts Center were called before the mayor of Torrance and had to convince them that one, there would not be any lewd acts. And two, there would be no minors in attendance as it is an 18 and over event.”
He said that several drag performers he knows have been receiving online death threats and that drag queens continue to be targeted in states like Tennessee, which recently passed an “anti-drag bill” that restricts “adult cabaret performances” in public or in the presence of children, and bans them from occurring within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship. According to NPR, “the Tennessee bill is so constitutionally vague there is little clarity about what falls under the jurisdiction of the ban, making business owners, performers and others uncertain of what could come next.”
“These stories are but a few of many, and I want all of you to be aware because personally, I am pissed,” Bowman added. “Not because this may affect my business, but because this involves people that I respect, work with, am friends with, and admire as talented performers. I want you to be aware because I believe–and trust me, I have done a lot of research–that this is part of a larger picture. And that picture includes the attempts to roll back all LGBTQ rights.”
Bowman announced in the same newsletter that Legendary Bingo will be 18 years and over “for the foreseeable future.” The charity fundraiser has always been a safe space for parents to bring their children, if the wished, as a way to bring joy to more than one generation. “…I have always been proud of the fact that we can bring all types and ages together for the common cause of helping a charity and seeing that we all have the ability–at any age–to make a positive change in the world. But I need to protect my performers and the venues where we perform. I ask only that you stay aware of the current situation and that we all fight against it however we can. And honestly, we must.”
Legendary Bingo is one of the most popular and longest running weekly charity events in Los Angeles. It will celebrate their landmark 25-year anniversary in April. It has been running strong at Hamburger Mary’s WeHo for the last 20 years.
To learn more about Legendary Bingo, visit: https://bingoboyinc.com/.
Such a sad time in our country. Religion is toxic.
Mr. Palmieri we see you with your dog walking all over Weho acting like you are in charge and honestly most Wehoians are getting sick of you. You are so abusive to people who no longer want to believe the lies that you spread! The truth is that Drag Queens are obscene and an insult to God!
This sort of crap makes me want to sponsor a drag queen preschool. It would be worth it if only to watch Tucker Carlson’s head explode.
If I heard of a drag queen at a preschool we would organize a group of 2nd Amendment armed protesters to prevent any more children getting molested by these evil insults to nature!
Must have been a slow night for the sheriffs. No parties to work or celebs to watch out for. Sheriff Luna, we expect better from you. Maybe the lower deputy count is ok if they can send 3 to a joke call like this.
Oh those of you that like to see and hear obscene pornographic material all over West Hollywood make the city ugly for everyone!
I’m glad Weho residents are on alert to help report these burlesque shows targeting kids. Glad the sheriff department is on board with keep morality in check.
I’m glad fake Christians are being called out for being liars and making false police reports which is against the law by the way. If you are going to break the law and make false reports in your rabid attacks against drag entertainers, at least make sure there is a drag show happening at the time of your call. Be on alert that we are on to you and we will not tolerate your hatred in West Hollywood.
The sad part of this alleged story is that the drag shows are of very poor quality and the weho residents deserve better. Today’s tragic news will only create a more vigilant community to protect children from drag shows while the bars continue to sell liquor.