Drag Queen Cara Melle Caught Heat For Pushing A Lady Off Her Stage
I’m not going to lie to you, I laughed the first, second, and third time I watched drag queen Cara Melle push a lady off her “stage” (it looked like the floor of a restaurant during a drag brunch, which made it even funnier) while prancing around to All I Want For Christmas Is You, because I am a horrible person. A better person would have been shocked and dismayed, and many better people were just that. After the clip of Cara shoving the overly enthusiastic patron into a crowd of gagged onlookers went viral, many people let her know that while shoulder pads and helmet hair are de riguour, drag is most certainly not a contact sport.
Here’s the clip. Cara said later in an apology video that the woman on the other end of her football arm is fine, and that the two “took pictures together, we kiki’d” after the show (via Queerty).
Maybe after too many Prosecco’s @theexhibit #balham but still as @RuPaul taught us #DragIsNOTaContactSport ! #SafetyFirst pic.twitter.com/IkItNJaUxT
— Crotch Magazine (@CrotchMagazine) December 14, 2019
RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Phi Phi O’Hara was one of the people who called out Cara for her brutish behavior.
No absolutely NO!
Maybe because I have been in this business for more than half my life now…this is NOT how you handle this situation.
This wouldnt have happened if the venue/staff handled it properly..and this certainly wouldn’t happen had it been one of the queens family.
— Jaremi Carey (@PhiPhiOhara) December 16, 2019
Others were similarly appalled.
Jesus Christ hope the woman who got pushed is ok, that looked pretty brutal 😱
— Rebecca More 🖲 (@more_milf) December 16, 2019
It is NEVER ok to assault a woman or anyone at a bar/drag show/anywhere. As a drag performer you have to adapt to your audience and environment and pushing someone to the floor is completely unacceptable. Imagine that was your friend, you mother, your sister. Not ok pic.twitter.com/lXi4rTrNBr
— Vicky DeVille ♐️ (@msvickydeville) December 17, 2019
Ive seen a lot of shows in my time and have never seen anything like that. Management removes offending patron, the talent does not assault the patrons. Ever.
— JERRY LAMBERT (@vegaslamb) December 16, 2019
Man, I sure hate having my fun bubble burst. Much the same, I’m sure as that poor woman who got Chumbawamba’ed by a 6’5” man in heels felt. However, not everyone felt that Cara was in the wrong.
Spoiler alert: They are entitles and see the drag queens as "less than," so they have no problem disrespecting them and invading their space. I was at a show in Toronto where the dj had to gather all the straight girls and go over all the rules 3 TIMES!
— chris wakefield (@wakefieldreport) December 16, 2019
In fact, in her apology video, Cara did mention that the woman had been warned before the show to stay clear of the stage, but I guess the siren song of Mariah Carey was just too much for her festive heart to resist. Here’s what Cara had to say in the wake of The Shovening.
Melle then went into damage control on Instagram, issuing an apology of sorts. “I apologized to her, we took photos after, she is fine,” Melle said. “She had a great time, she got two bottles of Prosecco to go home with! She had a fabulous time, we took pictures together, we kiki’d and I felt horribly for it. Honestly, it ate me up.”
She also added: “Once again, I apologize to her, with my whole heart sincerely. If she ever sees this, I apologize to you. I should not have ever pushed you that hard. I’m not for violence, I’m not for abusing women, that’s never been my character.”
It seems as though the mainstreaming of drag is going to continue to bring up uncomfortable situations like this one. 20 years BRP (before RuPaul), somebody’s tipsy mother wouldn’t even be at a drag show, and if she was, she’d know better than to get in the way. Then again, Cara wouldn’t have been performing in a clean, well-lighted place for drag, in front of a camera, and going viral on Twitter either. It’s a brave new world. And not all tips are appreciated.
Pic: Twitter