We're Here (2020–…): Season 3, Episode 1 - Granbury, Texas - full transcript

Get ready for truth and

transparency from an ocean of

liberal tears.

There has been a lot of news

coverage on drag queens in

parades.

Hbo is trying to make it family

friendly.

This is not family friendly.

It's that in-your-face kind of

"we're here."



This looks like it's gonna come

to granbury and will that mean

the fourth of July parade.

It's time the good citizens

of granbury step up and say,

"take it somewhere else."

Right now, it has 893

comments.

People talking about attacking

uh, camera equipment.

Somebody said something about

bringing rotten eggs.

This is the last thing we need

in granbury, no, no, no way, no,



no those are all different

comments.

I haven't seen this much

outrage, locally, maybe ever.

I guess you could say i'm

feeling a little triggered.

There you go.

Oh lord, she's into

that dungeon stuff.

I feel like one of you

all.

You're, you're amazing,

honestly.

You're better than me.

I'm doing rodeo.

Red rover, red rover, let

shanny come over.

Shangela, you are going

to hurt yourself, stop.

Ahhhh!

I did it!

Okay, bitch, that's like when

you first worked the tongue pop.

Nope.

That's it, and I think

you nailed it.

What do you all do here?

What's your official title.

We rodeo.

You rodeo?

We rope.

I ride broncs.

Oh, like the ones that

are mad?

Yeah.

I ride broncs too, and I

trick ride, jump off the horse.

Oh, my goodness.

Stand up, do a back flip.

Whoa, come on.

That's really cool.

Yeah, it does look cool,

it looks dangerous.

I actually rode a

horse in drag once.

What?

Really?

A horse once rode me.

Oh, I hope they ain't

coming for us.

Hi, how are you?

Ooh wee, hi girls.

I'm Eureka, how are you?

Love your outfits.

Are you really that tall?

I am big as hell.

Mama, my nickname in high school

was Paul bunyan.

Have y'all ever

seen a drag show before?

Yes, I have.

Oh, you have?

Really?

Here in granbury?

No, they're like no.

We're gonna do a drag

show on Friday, are you coming?

I am.

This is my friend

shangela.

Hi.

You say you work here?

I do.

What do you do here?

I'm the manager here.

Have you heard

about us, the drag queens coming

here to granbury?

Oh, yeah, on Facebook.

Everybody runs their mouth, we

heard that you all were gonna be

in the parade and...

We're not in the

parade, sadly.

How have your patrons

responded?

It, it's mixed.

Okay.

Some people say you all do

this, we're not coming back.

Hi, sir, what's your

name?

He said not today.

Well hell.

You think I ran everyone off?

We're in granbury,

Texas.

What are we, like an hour and a

half outside of Dallas, fort

worth area?

It feels very texan.

You know men are men and women

are women, and there's a horse

running scared somewhere.

I don't think granbury's

ready for a drag show.

There's been a lot of turmoil on

Facebook surrounding it.

A lot of negative things.

My, my only concern with it

is, um, from what I've heard in

the news is, like, when they

entertain children with it.

There are a lot of

people who are very anti-drag

here.

There was some chatter that was

happening prior to us coming

here, like "the drag queens are

coming, dun, dun, dun."

Honestly, I'm feeling

a little on nervous.

I've had experiences in Texas,

but in granbury I really feel

like we are not wanted.

A sundown downtown is a

town where, basically, if you're

anything but white and cis, you

need to be out of town before

the sun goes down.

Let's call this a weekend town,

"bitch, be gone before Saturday

comes around."

That's what it feels like.

Hey, Adrienne, I also have a

sister, Adrienne.

She's probably not as weird or

crazy a whack job as you.

You should try and be working on

stuff about the border so you

don't get murdered by one of

those illegals coming in.

A lot of problems in Texas.

Hey, the more babies killed

the better, right?

Have a nice day Adrienne.

This is a totally random

person that's not even in this

state left me this message.

Yeah.

How did, how did she even get

your number?

No clue.

I've had people tell me they're

gonna burn my house down.

Send me messages calling me

whore, like, just every awful

thing you can think of, it's

probably been sent to me.

My name is Adrienne.

I live with my husband, Jack the

third, my son, Jack the fourth,

my niece.

My dog coco, my cats Gus, Lucy,

Tom boots, Ahsoka, Phil, Dan,

mama cat, and mister business.

It's a very full house.

Hello, everybody, can you

hear me?

I am a hair stylist and I am

the hood county Democratic

chair.

So, we had the runoff

election may 24th for the

Democratic voters it was just a

pitiful.

427 votes.

So, we need to do better, guys.

Granbury, on the surface, it

can be a really great friendly

place, but it's kind of a facade

because the politics here are

really, really nasty.

The color looks good.

Thank you.

Have you put waves in since

you did the color?

I have not.

On the outside, I look like I

fit in here, I can move through

the space, but I don't relate to

a lot of the people here.

So, what are you gonna do for

the fourth?

I have no idea.

How about you guys?

I'm gonna be with the

hood county democrats float.

I feel sometimes like, "oh,

that's the crazy girl, that's

the crazy democrat."

But being an ally is just

important so that people can see

safety, see caring, see love,

um, and not just the hate.

Hi.

Hello.

Okay, let's sit somewhere, let's

chit chat, where we going?

Come over here.

Well, come on.

Thank you.

What's going on?

I'm in granbury.

You're like a leader around

here, right?

I'm the, I'm the hood county

Democratic chair.

Ooh, I'm with the

chair, you all I'm with the

hood county Democratic chair.

That's right.

Well, you do have

some supporters around here

though, yes?

I have more than you would

think.

Oh, really?

For our county, 'cause our

county like in 2020

was 85% trump voters so we are

massively outnumbered but we do

have a group of really strong

uh, democrats here that do show

up.

Why do you have

such a love for the gay

community?

When I was younger and I used

to do the bar scene it was the

gay bars for me.

Where?

Did you ever go to the

grapevine?

Yes.

I love the grapevine.

The one with the

grapes on the window outside.

Yes.

Totally.

The grapevine was my bar.

The first drag show I ever

saw was at the Rose room on my

eighteenth birthday.

Oh, my gosh.

I probably was there.

You're probably way younger

than me, but, um, no I've always

uh, had gay friends.

You know, I saw a lot of my

friends have, you know, HIV came

into play.

People were afraid and people

didn't want people to be afraid

of them.

Have you ever faced

any backlash in this community?

I mean, I'm an open liberal

person in this community, so I

get backlash all the time.

Girl, I bet.

I don't, I don't give a shit

if they love me.

Thank you.

If I feel like something's

not right I feel like somebody

needs to say something.

Right, 'cause I

know in this area it was an

issue about school books being

banned.

Yes, uh-huh.

Most school districts ignored

it, um, my school district

started removing books.

It was kind of on a hush, hush

at first, then a couple days

after I organized, and we did

what I called a pop-up pride

event.

Um, to show the lgbtq students

and the trans students that we

cared about them.

Wow.

How many people went with you?

Like 20.

That's awesome, in

this community, that's awesome.

And I, I got some hateful

messages, and we got a few

people being hateful, but I got

several messages from kids

saying that...

It meant a lot to them.

Give me another

hug.

Because I know that is something

that is so special that you did

that.

It's that kind of warrior spirit

that sometimes you have to have.

We're gonna make something

special in this community.

We're gonna be loud.

Oh yeah.

I love that.

You're gonna, before we're

done, you're gonna teach me how

to make that noise.

Which one?

Okay, we're gonna work on it.

We are.

First time having an office.

And first time leaving an

office.

My name is deshay Jackson,

pronouns they, them, theirs.

I was working as the minister of

music for a church in granbury

for about almost two and a half

years.

Recently, I was let go because

I chose to not be silent.

There's a lot of energy that

goes into moving.

In this case, moving when you

weren't ready to.

Being in granbury as a trans,

nonbinary person, also being

black, my identity is not

celebrated, it's tolerated.

Hi.

How are you?

I'm well, how are you?

I'm Bob, nice to meet

you.

Deshay.

Well, this is one of the

wildest places in the country.

It is wild.

For multiple reasons.

Folks that are from

Texas are, they are so pure,

like so proud to be from Texas.

Oh, my gosh, they're, the

amount of Texas pride after you

do the pledge of allegiance

there's also the, to the Texas

flag and doing that, um, as well

as like there's a song, that I

don't, I had never learned the

song, I chose not to.

Are these piano keys?

Yes.

It's for my engagement ring.

How long have you all

been together?

It'll be two years next

month.

Oh, nice.

Congratulations.

That's amazing.

Thank you.

Tell me a little bit of,

tell me a little about yourself,

so what, what's you're um, your

current identity as far as your

sexuality and your gender, all

that?

So, I identify as trans

nonbinary, and somedays it's

trans nonbinary fem, um, I've

come into that maybe the last

year and a half two years.

So, you're, you're a

musician?

I am a pianist by trade but I

also did saxophone, a lot of low

wind wood stuff in college, I've

also been singing since I was

four 'cause church choir counts.

Are you still an

educator?

Uh, um, in a different sense.

Um, I do education through

ministry.

Got it.

I had two churches I worked

here in granbury and I also work

for a church in, uh, Dallas.

My church here in granbury, I

was

was a minister of music for

about two years um, and

unfortunately was also, uh, let

go this month.

What, why did they let

you go?

Um, there are things of

tardiness, uh, said that my

piano playing had been slipping

um, I've also done the steps to

correct that, um, but I have

colleagues that are late, um,

and also I had given information

saying that I deal with micro

aggressions of, of homophobia,

transphobia, of racism.

And when I had named these

things of what has happened to

me I had been waiting for

responses and it felt like I

wasn't being heard.

When that deals with your own

protection, when that deals with

your safety, when that deals

with your whole being, that's

really hard, also.

And how was the parting,

did it feel contentious or...

It was, it was one of those

things where I did not expect to

go in that day having to clear

my office.

It just seems like the

people at deshay's job made it

very clear, the, the main

message was we do not want you

here.

A lot of times, when you are not

only a person of color, but a

queer person, you're held to a

much stricter standard.

My church in Dallas is a

church where I've been able to

be me, I bring up these

conversations about the

intersections of queerness,

gender, justice for lgbtqia+

person's equality, like these

are on our missional statements

that we read every week.

Your, your experience

sounds so different than, than

mine and I, I think it's really

amazing that you have this like

this affirming church.

Have you ever done drag

before?

No.

I have been to drag shows, I've

written a paper over it, never

done drag.

Why would you say yes to

something like this?

I left church hurt, so having

to come back into granbury, for

me, that means the aggressive

freedom of queerness in the face

of what told me, we only see

part of you, for me it's like,

you don't have power over me.

I'm, i'm, I'm very

excited to be working with you.

I would love to hear a little of

you...

[Bob and deshay mumble back and

I think maybe we can do that.

Okay, hold on.

All right, so on this note

you can have all those, these

are mine.

Got it.

Okay.

And I'm staying just on

the white keys?

Uh-huh, and you're gonna

play what your heart feels.

Oh, this is so much

pressure.

Okay, here we go.

For deshay to do this

show is a chance for them to

show they may have been bent but

they are not broken, and for

people who saw that happen to

them, they can see that you

don't have to get crushed to

nothing just because this, um,

powerful system, this powerful

place, uh, deemed you unworthy.

Oh yes, always love the

third, yeah.

That was so good.

See.

You totally can do it.

Good morning.

Hello, hello.

Hi, good morning.

Hello, beautiful.

I live for engaging

with people in the drag bars and

clubs, but sometimes you know

you got to get outside of those

spaces and really connect in the

community.

I'm shangela.

Savannah.

Drag queen story

hour is something that I love to

do.

Here I am, showing up at my nice

little fabulous look, and I came

here to read a book to children.

So, what's going on now?

Um, the, um, the drag queen

was going to be reading a, just

a regular children's book about

bats to a group of kids.

But the scary dude, super

aggressive, has been calling all

morning.

He asked me if we were having

a story time, and if there were

children here.

And I said, because of the

safety issue that you presented

we've cancelled it.

What'd he say then?

He said that was a smart

move.

So, no children, made them leave

the property.

Um, they got a call from

somebody else in town who

somehow figured out that there

might be a drag story hour going

here, and the call was a little

bit threatening.

We have security here and now

they have security here, too.

I just didn't

expect that something so

innocent as reading a children's

book to children would, you

know, get people so riled up

that they would call and make

threats against the store.

One of the moms who had come to

the drag queen story hour with

her kid, offered up her business

for me to show up there and do

the drag queen story hour.

And she wasn't afraid.

She said, you know what, I

support this, so I'm making it

happen.

We owe it to them to be

louder than the crazy.

Knock, knock,

knock.

Hi!

Hello.

Okay, where can I sit?

Can I sit there?

So, I'm so happy you guys are

sitting here letting me read to

you, okay.

So, it's called "wake up little

bat."

Okay, where's the bat?

It's right there.

That's it, ooh you

all are good.

Were you successful in

corrupting the children?

Oh, baby, the kids

are doing death drops all across

main Avenue right now.

No, you know what, I was

successful in creating a space

where children felt that it was

okay to engage in a story hour

with a drag queen, that's it.

Is that a bat?

No.

What do you think

that is?

It's a squirrel.

My purpose here is

to represent who I am, to bring

the light, the energy, the

entertainment, and, also, the

heart.

Sadly, people are trying to

instill fear in us and fear in

those who support the gays to

push us down.

The fact that people are so

vocal about not wanting

visibility for the drag

community also speaks to their

disdain for the gay community.

Welcome to granbury.

Thank you so much

I'm looking forward to seeing

you all at our show.

Bye beautiful, big hug.

Bye.

"They both die at the end"

was one of the books on the

kraus list that was banned and

pulled from the library.

The book debate heating up in

Texas as eight titles have been

pulled off the shelves in

granbury ist.

It's nice that the town has a

bookstore that's willing to have

queer books because if the

school library doesn't, I got to

get them from somewhere.

It's the transgender, the

lgbtq and the sex, the sexuality

in books.

That's what we're pulling out.

Hearing that, knowing there

are so many queer children in

his district, myself included,

it's disgusting.

I bought a lot of books that

were on that kraus list,

specifically to put in a

teacher's classroom.

I'm gonna write my name at the

top, and, you know, if it ends

up becoming a problem of oh, the

library banned this, you

shouldn't' be reading this, well

it's not that teacher's book,

it's mine.

These are love stories, these

are stories of self-identity and

they don't want that here.

They're trying to erase us, not

just within granbury, but within

Texas as a whole.

Ooh, it is warm in

Texas, honey.

Oh, hold on, mama's got to fix

her coochie.

Hello.

Oh my god.

Hi.

Hi, hi, I'm Eureka.

You are so stunning, I'm Lou.

It's so nice to meet you.

You're stunning, come

on Lou.

What are your

pronouns, may I ask?

They, them.

They, them, okay.

So, non-binary t or non-gender

conforming.

Yes, I am non-binary.

I first came out as cisgender

and pansexual.

I was like hey, you know

sometimes I'm attracted to

people who aren't men.

Try that on for size.

And then, like three weeks later

I was like, I'm not attracted to

anyone but women.

Well, tell me more,

what do you want me to know

about you?

From the age of six, I played

roller derby.

Roller derby?

Which is a huge queer

community, like very non-binary,

polyamorous people, trans women,

there's trans men on my team, it

was any gender, any identity,

everyone was welcome.

That was kind of my safe

space.

You know, I know that

Texas has been pretty bad for

queer people in general, like

what's some of the stuff that

you've been through here?

I've been threatened, I've

been verbally assaulted, I've

almost been physically

assaulted, I've been

cyberbullied.

Wow.

So, my school went along with

something called the kraus list,

which, um, is this list of over

or more percent

queer literature.

No.

That are being banned.

I'm basically the spokesperson

against this.

It sounds like you

put yourself in a leader

position often or people put you

in a leader position very often.

I started the gsa at my

school in granbury not just for

students, there are zero queer

support groups, there's nothing.

At the first meeting, I was

expecting like six people to be

in that classroom, and I would

know all of them.

Yeah.

Over 30 people were in

there.

Wow.

The queer community in

granbury, honestly, is big, but

it's that situation of they're

scared.

Personally, I feel like it is my

job because I am this out and

proud queer person to be that,

that shield for those queer kids

in granbury who don't have it.

I want to tell these kids that

you can be proud.

That's what I want to put into

my show.

I can tell that's

very important to you, but I

also want this to be fun and

about you, at the same time.

Okay, okay.

I've, I've got that in there.

Yeah, so what kind of

drag do you want to do?

I kind of want to be very

androgynous.

Love it.

Do you want to bind, what do you

want to do with your chest, do

you want to have chest

or bind or what?

I've never done binding

before.

I think I've always wanted to.

We can always test

it.

I hate this, but, like, I've

never done it before, it makes

me so nervous, I want to like

look in a mirror and look at the

me that I want to be, basically.

So, obviously, you

have this natural-born fight for

justice in you.

Where do you think that comes

from, like is your mom or your

dad like that?

It's definitely from my mom.

Know your worth then

add the text.

Yes!

I love your shirt.

Thank you.

Um, and this is my dad.

Dad, hi, what's your

name?

David.

You must be pretty

proud of your child.

Very much so.

Our biggest fear is that

they've painted a, a target on

their back um, which, you know,

in, in the, in a way they have

there's been some ugly stuff out

there.

How do you think

granbury's gonna react to a drag

show?

When all of the talk started

here about it, um, everything

they did with the book bans here

I think kind of set the tone for

that.

They had these hot button words,

you know, "porn" and "child

pornography" and, um, you know

pedophiles and you know in um,

in Dallas, they had a drag

brunch, and it, it, um, parents

that took their children were

being physically attacked, and

you know, you don't want to see

that for your child.

Yeah.

But, at the end of the day,

that's who Lou is, so I have to

um, stand behind them and let

them know I'm standing there

instead of in front of them

because they don't want me in

front of them.

Yeah.

How about this?

Yes.

This is the hood county

democrats float, this is the

first float we've had in the

parade since 2008.

We've got to do the, the

ribbon.

Being a democrat like open

like this is kind of an act of

rebellion for, for granbury.

There's lots of social

backlash, for sure.

With all of the negativity, it

can be a really hard place to

live.

We're all working together,

we're all volunteers, and we

want to keep that in mind so

none of our voices count more

than anyone else.

I got the t-shirts, we,

they're, they're doing this, we

should have our democrat

t-shirts on.

Hey, just so everybody knows

it's the club's float, it's

everybody's float, it's not one

person.

I'm leaving.

Y'all can find another lady

Liberty.

Oh, come on, Joyce.

Not if it's all about gay

pride.

I don't think this town's ready

for it.

It's not about gay pride.

I think you're making it

about that.

Well, it's not what I was told

it was gonna be about.

Don't tell me what I'm making

it about.

That's okay, I'll come by and

get the stuff.

I don't feel safe.

Okay.

It's, it's not how it was put

to me.

To be honest, I'm a little

bit concerned about safety,

myself.

Yeah, it's a thought.

Oh, I think we need a, a

police officer walking close to

us the whole time.

I don't, I mean I don't think

that having rainbow ribbon is

controversial, or it shouldn't

be.

It's like, we're okay with

gays and lesbians, as long as

they don't put it in my face.

Because now you're making me

uncomfortable.

It absolutely, like, infuriates

me.

You know, if this needs to

get pushed right now, then we're

the ones to do it.

Exactly.

You know?

Well the, it looks like i'm

gonna be standing as lady

Liberty now.

Oh, you'll make a lovely lady

Liberty.

You'll be perfect.

Hi.

Ooh, hello.

I brought a crew.

Oh, my god.

Like the queer like, I

was gonna say a gay "West Side

story" but does it get any gayer

than West Side story?

Hello again,

darling.

I'm so excited.

Big mama's home.

Hey.

Hey.

This is our glam

team.

I'm really, I'm really

very proud of this team, and I

think that I have something you

are going to absolutely love.

We're doing a

performance where it starts in a

hair salon.

Shocking turn of events.

We're going like very

cool kids behind the bleachers.

Instead of smoking cigarettes

you're reading banned books

right.

Yeah, of course.

You're gonna be pink.

Yes, I love it.

It's gonna be big because

we're texans.

We're gonna time you

going from here to there putting

them on and setting back in the

chair.

Oh no.

Pop.

Okay, good.

So, you, da, da.

Wop, wop.

Three, two, one.

This is so exciting.

Are we here for baby's

first heel?

Yeah.

That is a sound that

thrills me.

Get into mirror,

get into the mirror.

Oh, mighty, mighty.

Toss it out.

Mighty lequin.

No, no, no, let me, let me

giraffe leg it, let me see if I

can walk all the way over there.

Oh, okay.

We're gonna full, full

baby giraffe in the circle of

life.

Okay, so.

This is going to be fun.

I am not worried about this

one bit.

Oh, yeah this is great.

About to have calves like a

Hungarian shotput honey.

Boom.

25 seconds.

That is amazing.

I am sweaty.

So, does all this speak

to you?

Oh, dear god, it screamed at

me.

I can have a voice.

I kind of have a little head.

I have little, little head

syndrome.

No, it's cuties.

Works well for drag, too.

See, I always want to have a

bigger head.

Yes, work the big

head, big heads are fabulous

too.

What we thought would be cool

was to play up this idea of the

androgyny, I heard maybe you

wanted to do some binding.

So, we could play with that.

It's doing something.

I, like, I keep like turning

in the mirror and just be like

oh, my god, like, it's, like, a

really weird experience of this

is something I've been so used

to and now that it's not there

it's, like, incredibly euphoric.

I wish I looked like this all

the time.

That's amazing.

I love how excited and happy you

are.

Like, you look, like a whole

'nother person, just your energy

and everything.

Happy fourth of July!

There was a rumor

that we were going to be in the

fourth of July parade, which

apparently caused such an upset

in this town.

Thousands of comments on

Facebook posts.

We wanted to come and

support our drag kids, whom have

never been to the parade because

they have never felt safe

enough.

I love this parade,

too, it's cute.

And that's all we

wanted to do.

Oh, look wonder

woman.

Girl, there's a rainbow down

there, that has to be us.

Hood county

democrats.

Hey, hey.

What does this say?

"Free drag queen repellent

prayer."

Oh, you getting ready to, you

gonna pray against the drag

queens.

Yeah.

I don't' have a problem with you

guys, just not walking in our

parade, that's all.

Well, you know

what?

I don't have a problem with you

either.

And what a nice thing to see.

I think, you know, drag queens

belong everywhere, but maybe you

don't know, how, how many drag

queens you know mama?

I actually work with one.

You do?

And what does your drag queen

friend feel about you wanting to

pray them away?

He's on my side.

He wasn't happy about it, but

we're good friends.

Well, you know

what, friendship and love

hopefully will supersede it all.

Nice to meet you.

Same here.

Look at, you look

so cute.

No booing.

Oh, we got a lot.

Oh, did you?

Oh yeah.

We smiled and waved.

Good, and you know

what, it's what it's about.

Hi, I'm Bob, nice to

meet you, may I read your sign?

Yes.

"Nor shall a man put on

a woman's cloak for whoever does

these things is an abomination

to the lord your god."

Yes, and that's what the

Bible is, I know you know.

Well, that's an

assumption.

Am I the first drag queen you

ever met?

Yes.

Met personally, yes.

That's interesting and,

and what do you, what if I, what

do you, what do you think is

like the general idea when you

think of a drag queen?

Uh, someone that for whatever

reasons loves to dress up like a

woman.

You know, you're with other

people you feel comfortable with

in your case it's other men who

like to dress up like a woman.

As handsome as you are, there'd

be a lot of women after you I, I

don't want to, I, I'm saying

that with all seriousness.

Let me give you a

picture, you, you from this

town, people in your house talk

like this, people at your school

talk like this, and then you

want to have fun on the fourth

of July, you come out here, you

want to have a good day, you

want to wear an outfit that

makes you feel good, you walk

out here and the one day you

want to have a good day and you

look down and this is the first

thing you see, how do you think

that person would feel?

Like I said earlier the only

reason I'm doing this is I want

the young people to know that

there's two sides of the story.

I have to be honest,

I don't think that you're doing

this for other people to see it,

because these children see this

message all the time.

I think this is for

people that are unlike you to

see that this is how you feel.

As a Christian this is offensive

and it hurts my feelings.

I'm gonna move on and tell you

all to have a great day because

I'm getting a little too

passionate so it's time for me

to step away.

All right, you all be well.

Bill, Gale, y'all be well.

There are a lot of

people in this community who

don't want to see this show

happen.

The reason they're winning is

because it's not a fair fight,

nobody's speaking up on the

opposite side.

We got to help build a community

and if that united body can

really get together they can

fight back against those

bullies.

Look at this.

Hello.

How's it going?

Good.

How are you?

Very good, very

good.

We just came to check out the

rodeo today.

This is my friend's first time

at the rodeo.

This is indeed my first

rodeo.

Well, welcome to your first

rodeo.

Thank you.

Have yourself a hell of a

good time.

Is that the person who

rode?

Oh, that's the rodeo

clown, I think.

No, that's not a clown,

that's the rider.

Girl, why didn't I

have chaps like that.

Look at his little britches.

Work.

This looks so dangerous.

On the broncos, they put a

strap around the, the, levels.

Yeah, right between the,

right between the...

And the, that makes the...

And tightens it.

That would make me

buck, too.

I would buck the house down.

Hello, how are you all doing,

nice to see you.

Good, how are you?

I think you all might be the

only black people out here.

I do feel like we

have a lot of eyes on us at this

moment, though.

Hi.

Y'all movie stars or

something?

Well, I like to think

we are.

Do you know what a drag show is?

No, but I guess that means

gay, right?

Yeah, it's gay.

Are you all doing anything

Friday?

No.

But what few friends I got would

throw rocks at me if I went to

y'all's show.

Oh, really?

Well, you know how it really

is, you know.

Yeah, yeah.

At one time, if you come to

granbury, and they, y'all would

be in danger.

I mean, hell, you know that.

And...

I mean we've had some

like scary, like, comments and

things like that but nothing

probably what it would have

been.

Course, I growed up that way.

Man, I growed up right here in

hood county.

Gay folks, black folks, you know

but I didn't know better.

Until I went to Vietnam.

I learned the hard way.

And you learned the

hard way.

Wow.

I think that this guy

is a little bit of the

representation of people in this

town that want to be more

accepting, but they're afraid

to.

It made me a little sad just

thinking about, like, the danger

it is to be here and be

different.

If we're safe or not.

Fourth of July is a

really rough time for me.

Watching people celebrate

freedom, while knowing that a

lot of people don't feel free.

You know, you, you can have

pride in certain things about

being American, and you can have

a lot of critiques, criticism,

concern, and even shame about

other things in regards to this

country.

You can't thrive in a town where

it feels like everywhere you go,

someone's against you.

Y'all ready?

Yes, are you ready?

No.

Let's, show us how to

stand, I'm ready to...

You just get down in a squat.

Let's stop thinking

and dance.

Woo.

Are you nervous in

any way?

It has occurred to me that,

you know, there may be

protestors there, I've heard.

It's all on mind, but I'm trying

to keep that as, like, an

afterthought.

Yes.

More pashan.

Got to be angry with it.

Go one, two, three, four, up

and hips.

Up and hips.

Work Mary.

I'm some kind of freak.

Yeah.

Seeing you on those

skates, you're like a whole

'nother person.

It's like from flat feet to

skates and you're like, err, so

I need you to pretend like

you're on skates the whole

number.

And don't worry

about that leg so much as the

punch.

Do something.

Right.

Do something.

Do something.

Yes.

When I'm in drag on

stage, I am the most powerful

person in the room.

You make that eye contact, pick

one person in the room, when a

drag queen looks at you, there

should be a little bit of

excitement, fear, joy,

submissiveness...

Oh!

All in that person.

Gonna be such a rock

star.

I'm so excited.

Ow, I got a cramp in my

butt.

I am juicy, honey.

Okay, the next

street we're gonna turn right.

And it's coming up very quickly.

It's a lot to be the leader.

Mm-hmm.

Does that ever feel

like really heavy?

Um, it gets a little

overwhelming.

Adrienne, on the

daily, has to face insults,

threats, nasty looks, and not

enough people are speaking up.

Wouldn't it be an awesome

community if more people said

"I'm gonna stand up for what's

right."

If you got even one person

that's like, you're not alone, I

think it would mean something

huge for Adrienne.

There has been so much

backlash and negativity even

with some of the democrats, you

know, that's been kind of

disappointing to me.

We're not gonna get past that if

we keep letting these people win

and hiding.

Come on in.

Hi.

I'm d.J. Or shangela.

There are people here that I

would call like moderate

Republicans that support lgbtq

rights.

That just maybe are afraid to

say it publically.

It's so important to get some

united voices that have the

leadership in the community that

people will listen to and say

"hey, guys, this is not okay."

Well, thanks for

having us in.

Absolutely.

Yeah, we heard you were, uh,

coming to town.

Both of you are straight,

white, republican men.

Yes.

I grew up super conservative

but, um, I, I'm a moderate.

With us coming with

a drag show, there has been just

a lot of online opposition.

You know, we're ninth fastest

growing county in the

United States, so that's why

people are digging their heels

in to try to combat any change.

I've always been one that's

been kind of quiet on social

media until this.

You know I, I have my issues

with the republican party, it's

just, it's one of those

government versus sociology,

right.

But you'll still vote with

Republicans, you think?

I don't know how I'm going to

vote yet.

Okay.

If we said, can we

get a show of hands of who

believes in love, would you

raise your hand?

Absolutely.

Would you ever put

yourself on stage or even to get

in drag for this show?

If I was not out of town next

weekend I would have gladly done

the show.

Found a way to come

be in the show?

I would be terrible at it

okay, but I would gladly do it.

Would you get in

drag with us?

Do whatever you want, babe.

I support you.

Working in granbury, there's

a realization that not

everybody's going to accept who

you are.

The church I serve in Dallas

is where I am fully and

authentically myself.

James Baldwin has an essay

titled "the price of freedom"

that I read this week.

He says, "in order to be free,

you have to look into yourself

and decide what you want, or,

at least, what you will not

have."

You know, I wish I had had

that in granbury, but I couldn't

be what they wanted me to be.

I had people in my congregation

that would say, like, "I wish

deshay wasn't so out there or

flamboyant."

The amount of times that I got

introduced as "he," even though

my people knew that I was not

"he."

I have days where I've

questioned myself because of how

this has affected me.

Where I work in Dallas, i'm

not just the musician, like, I

am a minister.

Because of this break, I cannot

serve in places that do not

accept this.

Being terminated, and then still

coming back to granbury, to do

the drag show is a chance to

realize that it's never too late

and that today is the day to

make change.

I am here, I am me, bring it.

So, what do you think about,

um, granbury?

I don't know.

People are getting a little more

bold, out loud, so, yeah.

Zane is my fiance.

He is one of the sweetest

humans.

He has been more than

supportive, he's always grabbed

my hand and moved forward.

I think we're gonna meet some

resistance we haven't before,

uh, as a couple.

I mean, through covid, many of

our seminary colleagues didn't

even know we were dating, but

now we'll just be, like, out and

very visible, and that feels

really exciting.

I mean, I am a little

anxious just because I know we

might get, you know, words and

whatever.

I mean, when don't we get

words?

Thinking about going down to

granbury like being honest, I...

I mean it could happen again?

It could happen again, like,

it's just that moment of feeling

small, and, like, we don't

deserve that.

You know, we came here, and

everybody was excited, it was

gonna be a, a fresh start, but,

I mean it's very threatening,

it's very, it's scary.

Luckily, they're not on that

social media because one of the

things we found out was one of

the people posting on there is

actually a bus driver in this

community.

Oh, wow.

So, am I gonna put my child

on that bus?

No.

No.

No, of course not.

I can't trust that.

Adrienne is very outspoken

and very vocal, and I support

her a hundred percent, but i'm

most of the time just hanging

out in the back making sure

everything's cool.

There was a school board

meeting less than a month ago

where a gentlemen got up and

threatened several members on

the board, and then was asked to

leave and found out that he had

a gun on his hip.

So...

Sadly, people are

trying to instill fear in us to

push us down.

It makes you think, what if

someone showed up and decided to

try and be violent, what would I

do in that moment?

But this is exactly what is

happening to a lot of drag

entertainers in the

United States.

Oh, my god.

"Disgusting, seriously

disappointed in our city council

for letting this happen."

"Drag queens are a perverse

lifestyle, they need to keep the

crap hidden at night in the

adult clubs like it's always

been, take your pity party for

groomer drag queens elsewhere."

We got spied on.

Let me see how many pictures she

took.

18, 19, 20, 21 pictures.

Of the workstation.

Where is this?

This is right here.

Is this on

Facebook?

This is on Facebook.

We got doxxed, honey.

Hbo show "we're here" at

the granbury conference center.

We were watching the fireworks

with our kids, turned around,

and this is what we see.

Where did they see

it, she must...

Lights on, no curtains

drawn, everyone walking by could

see this.

It's a mirror on the

ground.

Their whole complaint is us

shoving it in their faces.

But you looked through our

windows.

In our windows.

A&m is coming next

week dragging queens through the

sage bush.

Oh!

Oh, yeah, there's a few of

those kind of comments.

It is scary.

That anybody at any time can

know our location, know where

you know.

They're also now posting the

date, time, and location of our

show.

I, I have not been in

this town very long, it seems

very indicative of what people

who live around here actually go

through.

It's important for

us to do this show for the

people who we're in the show

with and for the people that

show up and support and love.

But it also has an influence on

people who don't love us, and

hopefully it will have an

influence on some of the nasty

people that are on this Facebook

page.

Once we do what we are

gonna do.

It's a wrap.

It's a wrap.

Granbury is probably the

most contentious place we've

ever been in.

That, that's so important to

make sure that we have the

security, especially where

people are just making veiled

threats of violence.

This is an exciting

experience for us all, and, at

the same time, like, I would not

want you to just disappear, and,

but this, it's not safe in this

place.

Do you feel that

the town response is gonna be

tonight, do you think we're

gonna have anybody coming, do

you think we're gonna be

performing for ourselves?

What do you think?

Oh, I think it's gonna be a

full house.

Oh, really?

Absolutely.

You going to check my

rhinestones.

Do you think you'd ever

like continue doing drag at all?

I'm open to it.

You are good at it.

Take notes.

Take, you know, I will

actually.

I feel like I look like an

alien.

Go ahead.

Girl go ahead.

That's a good one.

Baby, this is drag hair.

Oh, honey.

This is better than the

airport.

This is gonna be the first

lgbtq event in granbury.

This, this is huge.

You look lovely.

That's the fem side of my

nonbinary that I prefer.

Oh, the doll, the

duchess.

Yes.

Look at the green lid.

Go on, elphaba, you whore.

It's like looking at a

different person.

Like, it doesn't feel like me at

all.

Baby, Adrienne is

tired of people saying "we're

with you," but not showing up.

Hey.

I am so glad that you all are

here.

Thank you for doing this, this

is a surprise to Adrienne, she

won't know anything.

Let's see if I can

get some of the people who have

been quiet to also be loud and

be visible.

All right,

granbury, Texas, are you ready?

Welcome to the

"we're here" freak show.

We found the wildest and

freakiest show this side of the

Mississippi.

We have freaks and creeps,

queerdos and weirdos, so step

right up and feast your eyes on

the largest freak of them all.

Eureka.

Oh, my god, y'all

are the most beautiful bunch of

freaks I've ever seen.

You know, I have to admit,

granbury has been a

little difficult, a lot of

looks, a lot of scoffs, some

slurs.

One thing that people always

want to call me is a freak.

And I'm like, thank you.

And the truth is, is if you look

to your left and to your right

these are your family, this is

your tribe, if you feel

different.

Mama, celebrate being different,

it is boring being the same.

I'm very, I feel very

uh, honored to share this

privilege with you, I really do.

I'm not, I'm not crying.

No, you're not, but we

are about to rip it up.

For me, it is truly a

privilege to do this.

I'm still trying to create my

voice.

Baby, you about to

get it right now.

Please welcome to the stage

Bob the drag queen and

miss Patti Crocker.

Oh, granbury, y'all

make some noise for miss Patti

Crocker, honey.

Someone may have caught the drag

bug today.

Granbury, I may have been

fired out of my position, but

you can't turn me loose, y'all.

This, this is why we speak out,

this is why we do things, and

you, you there, come, come here,

my fiance, come here.

When you talk about can't

turn loose, which I can't turn

loose from this one, and I am so

glad that I don't.

And that gives me so much of the

courage to be my authentic self

regardless of where I am.

We gonna fight, we ain't no

doormat, you ain't gonna step on

us.

So, in other words, I mean,

we're here, some of us are

queer, get used to it.

Thank you, baby.

Oh, thank you.

I think granbury needs drag.

Good?

I think so, right?

Ready?

Because they need to see that

queerness isn't dangerous.

This is not poisoning your

children.

It's just art, it's just people.

It's empowering.

Six years ago, I came here

and six years ago, I decided i'm

not leaving, I'm gonna fight.

My parents are right here,

hi.

And I would like for

you all to join us on stage.

Yes.

I couldn't be prouder of this

uh, person that's with us up

here on stage.

We are, uh, we are very proud of

them.

I'm really lucky.

You know, not a lot of queer

kids in granbury get this.

It matters, we matter.

I hope this show will help

bring people together and we can

build a community here.

You know, there's a lot of hate

in granbury, but there's a lot

of love here, too.

Women's rights are

under attack.

Gay marriage is under attack.

Is anyone going to

speak up?

This is

miss mighty lequin wadley.

She is joined by three great

allies in this community who

said, "I will come out here, I

will put on this wig and these

lips to show you that we stand

firmly with you, virg, and Cody

and Darin."

This is my granbury.

There is someone

who wanted to say something to

you.

Jack, come on up, baby, come on.

What did it mean to you to see

Adrienne and the supporters

outside of your school, showing

love for the lgbtq community?

It just meant everything to

see like, hey, people are here

that do support you and, sure,

maybe even your family doesn't

support you, but there are

people out here like Adrienne

out here willing to support you

to be who you are.

Nobody in granbury should feel

like they have to hide who they

are.

And, and, and it's up to us to

stand up with them, and if I can

get one message out, please stop

voting for people and

politicians and policies that

are hurting people that we love.

Y'all, we packed

it out, out there.

Yes.

We packed it out.

Y'all packed it out.

So, thank you, thank you, thank

you.

I'm just gonna cry in

everything.

You, it's okay if

that's how you feeling, girl.

It just makes me emotional.

What does?

The statement and the message

that people that need to hear it

are gonna hear it.

You are a brave

mofo, you hear me.

Uh, I try.

You are.

You think granbury heard that

message?

Oh I, I sure hope they did.

Did this awaken a, a

sort of a drag spirit in you?

Oh, you know, it's definitely

awakened the fact that I'm like,

I want to live more to my

authentic self.

Um, but that might include some

drag.

Yeah, you know, you

never know.

I, I got to have my heels, I

have some face.

I hope that the community

will see that lgbtq people and

allies are here living out loud

and living truth, and maybe

we're gonna go through this

rough period, but ultimately

come out to the light.