Queensland Drag Performer’s Lawsuit Against Lyle Shelton Dismissed

Legal proceedings from two drag performers against anti-LGBTQI+ comments made by former Australian Christian Lobby member, Lyle Shelton, has been dismissed by Queensland’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Johnny Valkyrie and Dwayne Hill, who perform under Queeny and Diamond Good-Rim (or Diamond when appropriate), tried to sue Shelton for discrimination following a Drag Queen Storytime event in 2020.

At the time, Shelton spoke out against the performers on his Youtube program and blog, calling both them “creeps” and compared drag queens to pedophiles for hosting such events.

On August 10, Valkyrie and Hill’s case was dismissed by the tribunal, saying Shelton’s comments did not breach the states anti-discrimination laws.

Comments Considered Too Generalised

Within the 78-page decision, Tribunal member Jeremy Gordon explained the complaint failed under section 124A of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991.

The section notes the unlawful act which a person publicly incites “hatred towards… or severe ridicule of” a persons sexuality or gender identity.

Gordon explains that the comments made by Shelton were “generally” against drag queens and LGBTQI+ people whilst discussing Valkyrie and Hill.

“I consider this to be justified because it is possible to see from the submissions made on the complainants’ behalf that the case seems to be put rather more widely than in the contentions,” explained Gordon.

Furthermore, Gordon continued reiterate that the comments made from Shelton did not amount to the further ridicule which the performers faced following the storytime event.

“The belief of those in the hypothetical audience that when performing drag queen storytime the complainants were involved in some sort of child abuse or pedophilia, would not have come from anything in the respondent’s published material but from something else,” continued Gordon.

Noting the multiple publications and fans which upheld Shelton’s comments, Gordon says that the comments would not cause “the ‘ordinary reasonable reader'” to incite hate towards drag queens or LGBTQI+ activists.

Gordon concluded that the evidence provided from Valkyrie and Hill did “not amount to vilification,” resulting in the complaint being dismissed.

Protests Against Drag Queen Storytime Event

Legal action against Shelton followed a protest by the University of Queensland Liberal National Club members (UQ LNC) at Valkyrie and Hill’s storytime event in January, 2020.

The event was organised by Rainbow Families Queensland and hosted by the two performers at the Brisbane Square Library, before being interrupted by the group chanting “Drag queens are not for kids!”

Videos of the protesters sabotaging the event went viral, leading Shelton to comment anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric against the performers online.

Speaking about the incident on his online program, Pellowe Talk, Shelton compared drag queens to child sex offenders.

“Have we learned nothing from creeps like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew?” said Shelton.

Shelton continued to comment on Hill’s drag name ‘Good-Rim’ being inappropriate for children at the event, even though they went by ‘Diamond’ at the event. He continued criticising Hill and falsely accused them of being “a porn star.”

Questioning their reason for hosting the event, Shelton considered both performers a danger to young people – despite both performers holding valid Working With Children clearance.

Following his comments, the lawsuit from the performers were seeking $10,000 in damages and a public apology from Shelton.

Claiming to be a “concerned citizen,” Shelton has says he will not apologies for his comments under any circumstance.