Drag in Tennessee: Frequently Asked Questions

The Adult Entertainment Act (“AEA”)  prohibits a person from performing on public property or where their performance could be viewed by a minor if the performance is “harmful to minors.” The legal definition for “harmful to minors” is very narrow and only covers extreme sexual or violent content with no literary, artistic, or political value for minors.

Drag shows do not inherently fall into this category.

This law was initially set to go into effect on April 1, 2023. On March 31, in response to a lawsuit filed by the LGBTQ+ theatre company, Friends of George’s, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law from going into effect in Shelby County. On June 2, the judge found Tennessee’s anti-drag law unconstitutional and that it cannot be applied in Shelby County. A few months later, an additional judge in east Tennessee blocked the law from being enforced in the Eastern District of the state.  

However, on July 18, 2024, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision in the Friends of George case and dismissed that lawsuit. As a result, the AEA can now be enforced in Shelby County, as well as the Tennessee counties in which it was never enjoined (a vast majority of the counties in the state).  

The lawsuit in the Eastern District is still pending, and the AEA is still blocked from being enforced there.  

No. Only performances that are “harmful to minors” (as explained above) are banned under the AEA. While prior versions of the bill included much broader language about what was prohibited, drag is not illegal in Tennessee because it likely does not meet the very narrow definition of the types of performances prohibited under the AEA. 

The recent court decision in the Sixth Circuit determined that Friends of Georges’ case could not go forward because their drag performances likely were not banned under the AEA.  

In reaching this decision, the Sixth Circuit adopted an even narrower view of the AEA. Writing that now the AEA only prohibits “adult-oriented performances” from being performed publicly or where a minor could view them that, as a whole, “lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for a reasonable 17-year-old." 

See Friends of George's, Inc. v. Mulroy, No. 23-5611, 2024 WL 3451870 (6th Cir. July 18, 2024) (citing Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Inc. v. McWherter, 866 S.W.2d 520, 522–23, 528 (Tenn. 1993)). 

The law that ultimately passed only banned performances that were “harmful to minors,” which is a narrow legal definition that only includes extreme sexual or violent content with no literary, artistic, or political value. Drag does not inherently fall into this category. 

However, the intent of this law was to ban drag. Legislators on the floor of the Senate and House repeatedly referenced public drag performances as the target of this law. 

While drag performance is protected by the First Amendment, we are concerned that government officials may still attempt to censor people based on government officials’ own subjective viewpoints of what they deem appropriate. 

Anyone who is organizing an event or performing drag should continue to carry on as they had been prior to the passage of this law. 

Dance, fashion, performance, and music — essential components of a drag performance — are all protected by the First Amendment. 

These types of laws create an environment of fear and confusion, which too often results in self-censorship. When people are unsure what a law does or does not do, they often choose to avoid what feels like a risky choice. 

But drag is not a risky choice.