Surrey newspaper readers had thoughts about a drag queen on the front cover

After seeing a local drag queen grace the front page of a Surrey newspaper, it seems that some readers were more excited than others.

In her black, yellow, and white leotard, Abeiya Miraj was photographed during her performance at the “Drag Out Your Friends” drag show held Sunday at a Newton restaurant.

The fundraising event was for all ages; however, some locals said the photo printed on the front cover of Surrey Now-Leader was not so kid friendly. 

 

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Apparently, calls and emails to the news outlet deemed it “inappropriate.”

“One reader says her son is 12 and delivers the paper and shouldn’t have to see it,” the outlet said in a Facebook post. 

The newspaper sparked a debate when it opened up the conversation online and asked, “Can we ask for your thoughts?” 

One woman said she completely agreed with the criticism. 

“Our carrier is a young boy also and my 5- and 3-year-old often take our paper out of the box too. Not impressed,” she said. 

Another woman said she felt an all-ages drag show was inappropriate in itself, “let alone putting it on the cover.”

“It’s adult entertainment,” she added.

While there were about a dozen comments that did not like the photo on the front page, most of the responses in the comment section disagreed and cheered on the drag queen. 

“She is beautiful. No problem here. #motherofsons,” one woman wrote. 

“Looks like a superhero. Celebrate diversity! This drag queen should be in the Marvel universe,” another comment read. 

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Some people said they were even surprised the photo was up for debate. 

“What !!! Wish I had of known about the show,” one person wrote. 

Abeiya Miraj was one of many artists that performed to raise money for the new Pivot Theatre Company, which will stage plays starting in November at the Bethany-Newton United Church.