Queensland Drag Queens Sue Lyle Shelton

Following defamatory comments, former Australian Christian Lobby member Lyle Shelton is being sued by two Brisbane drag queens who earlier this year had a Drag Queen Story Time event at a Brisbane City Council Library interrupted by protesters from the University of Queensland Liberal National Club.

The altercation saw members of the UQ LNC storm the library building and force their way into the event space, chanting, “Drag queens are not for kids!”

The backlash tragically led to Wilson Gavin, one of the protestors, taking his life. It was in response to this suicide that Shelton felt it within his right to further attack the two performers, drawing inexplicable links that compare drag queens and members of the LGBTQI community to child sex offenders, asking his readers: “Have we learned nothing from creeps like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew?”

Shelton then went on to say, “Let’s hope the kiddies watching Drag Queen Storytime last Sunday don’t go exploring on Good-Rim’s Facebook page. Or ask their mum what ‘good rim’ means in the wonderful world of drag queens.’’

Johnny Valkyrie, who performs under the name Queeny, and Dwayne Hill, who performs under the name Diamond Good-Rim or Diamond (depending on the audience), are seeking $10,000 each in damages along with a public apology from Shelton. The claim, lodged with the Queensland Civil and Administration Tribunal, centres on a blog post made by Shelton in response to the altercation in January, and subsequent comments he made on the YouTube streaming program Pellowe Talk.

Shelton claimed that the two performers are dangerous to young people, and that Valkyrie is dangerous because he is transgender. This despite both performers holding valid Working with Children clearances.

 As Shelton holds a high profile within the public arena, as the former head of the ACL and also led the damaging NO campaign against marriage equality, the lawsuit against him argues that his comments would have been heard, read and seen by many.

The lawsuit argues in extension that the comments have had a serious impact on both performers, who have been fearful since then that people would wrongly perceive them as pedophiles.

This is not the first time, that discussions on Pellowe Talk have made their way into the news. Earlier this year, Pauline Hanson used the platform to voice her opinions around how, parents who believe their child might be transgender should have their children taken off them.

True to form, Shelton in commenting on the case, has claimed the lawsuit to be nothing more than “a demand for him to be gagged.”

“I will not be granting their demands. For to do so would surrender the freedom of speech of all Australians,” Shelton said. “At stake is the freedom of parents to critique and debate the demands for influence on their children coming from an aggressive rainbow political movement.”

 He went on to add that he had done nothing wrong in sharing his beliefs, before going on another tirade about how a court in Britain had ruled teenagers may not have sufficient capacity to consent to puberty blockers, hormone treatment or surgery, saying that he believed gender confusion was a result of gay activists deliberately aiming to “recruit” children.

“I contend that a key pathway to gender confusion is the ability of the LGBTIQA+ political movement to recruit young. Very young.” Shelton said. The self-described “concerned citizen” has previously said he would not apologise for his comments under any circumstance.