Community Rallies Around Drag Performer Polly Filla Following Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks On Her School Appearance

The LGBTQ+ community has rallied around Drag Queen Miss Polly Filla after a slew of online hate speech followed her appearance at a local Victorian school. Both Thorneharbour Health and Castlemaine Pride made public statements denouncing the anti-LGBTQ+ attacks, which included false child grooming allegations against Polly. 

“The online abuse directed at Polly Filla following their Wear it Purple Day performance at Castlemaine High School is unacceptable,” Thorneharbour Health posted to their official Instagram page. “Hate speech of this nature ripples across our LGBTIQA+ communities, particularly affecting young people who look to these events for affirmation and safety.”

The Wholesome Drag Storytime That Inspired Homophobic Backlash

Speaking to the Star Observer, Polly explained that she had presented a “storytime” segment to Castlemaine High School’s “Rainbow Club”, a social group for LGBTQ+ students and their friends (aged 13-18). 

The event was accompanied by a comprehensive list of safety and wellbeing measures: attendance was optional and required parental consent; the reading material was age appropriate and selected with assistance from a professional librarian; and several supervisors were present, including the principal, teachers and staff, and even the town’s mayor.

Miss Polly Filla Falsely Accused Of Grooming Children

Despite this, uncontextualised coverage of Polly’s school appearance began circulating on social media, including the Maryborough & Goldfields community Facebook page. With nothing more than limited and innocuous footage of the wholesome event, homophobic commenters began accusing Polly, who holds a valid Working With Children Check, of grooming children.

“I’ve spent the good part of the last four days responding to these posts and issuing cease and desist letters for pages to take down content featuring me,” Polly told this masthead, “due to their comment sections turning into a vitriolic pile-on of misdirected anger and unsubstantiated accusations.”

Publicly Conflating Drag Queens And Groomers Is A Criminal Offense

Polly went on to point out that publishing false criminal allegations against an identifiable person is illegal and can have serious consequences, even in the context of a Facebook comment section. Not only can individual posters be charged for defamation, but the pages these comments appear on can be held legally liable as secondary publishers if they fail to remove the content after being notified.

“It is fine to not like me, or drag performers, or to hold the opinion that we do not belong in schools,” said Polly. “However it is not okay for people to confuse a personal objection to drag with evidence of criminal behaviour.”

Polly’s Message To Moderators and Publishers

While Polly has no doubt had a challenging week, the drag performer’s main concern now lies with the LGBTQ+ youth who played witness to the offending behaviour.

“There are vulnerable adults and young people in our regional communities who may already be struggling with their sexuality, identity, or sense of belonging — and who don’t necessarily have either the thick skin or support systems that I do,” said Polly.

“Imagine being a queer young person struggling with your identity, opening Facebook and being confronted with a stream of vitriolic, hostile, and derogatory comments about a queer person and their performance… on these pages and groups online.

“I wanted the admins of these pages to understand the message that creates for LGBTQIA+ people reading these hateful comments. What does it tell someone who is already feeling isolated or unsafe? This is precisely why Wear It Purple Day — the event I was performing at — exists. It is about supporting LGBTIQA+ young people and creating communities where they feel visible, valued, safe and accepted.”

Polly’s Message To The LGBTQ+ Community

Polly’s advice to LGBTQ+ people facing similar unsubstantiated hate is simple:

“Don’t fight their worldview. Challenge their evidence. Don’t defend yourself against insinuation. Make them state the allegation. Don’t chase every accusation. Establish the factual record. Don’t try to win the troll. Communicate for the reasonable observer.”

As for Australia’s LGBTQ+ youth, the drag performer has just one take-away:

“You are valued, you are supported, and you belong.”