Google is distancing itself from a drag show in San Francisco after hundreds of employees signed a petition calling the performance a “direct affront to the religious beliefs and sensitivities of Christians.”
The tech company removed a “Pride and Drag Show” scheduled for Tuesday from its series of LGBTQ Pride events that it sponsored annually after the group of employees took offense with its lead performer, drag artist “Peaches Christ,” according to internal discussions viewed by CNBC.
The petition accused Google of religious discrimination for sponsoring an event and a performer that sexualizes and disrespects the Christian faith.
“Their provocative and inflammatory artistry is considered a direct affront to the religious beliefs and sensitivities of Christians,” the petition said of Peaches Christ.
An internal listing for the performance — which Google described as a way to “wrap up this amazing month” — was taken down shortly after the petition began circulating and Christian employees complained to the human resources department.
Google, however, claimed the event was removed from its sponsored series because it was booked before it was fully approved by the company.
“We’ve long been very proud to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community. Our Pride celebrations have regularly featured drag artists for many years, including several this year. This particular event was booked by and shared within one team without going through our standard events process,” a spokesperson said in an email.
“While the event organizers have shifted the official team event onsite, the performance will go on at the planned venue – and it’s open to the public, so employees can still attend.”
Google did not respond to The Post’s question as to whether the petition bore any weight in the decision to cut the program.
Other employees pushed back against both the petition and Google’s decision to remove the show from its series, according to internal discussions viewed by CNBC.
Some criticized their Christian colleagues’ complaints as subjective and feeding into political culture wars, which have been fueled in recent months by sweeping legislation targeting the rights of drag performers.
The employees also condemned Google for quietly taking down the event from its internal website in what they claimed to be buckling to the petitioners’ pressure.
