On April 29, Anisa Love and Virginia West were hosting the 3rd annual Kaleidoscope Youth Center Fundraising Drag Brunch at Land-Grant Brewing in Columbus, Ohio. The Center supports LGBTQIA+ youth throughout the state.
This particular 21 and up brunch was publicized more than their other events through local news outlets and social media, according to Anisa Love. The event was going well at first until Love was performing her second number.
Halfway through the show a large group of white men wearing black hoods, red shirts, red sunglasses, and Nazi flags marched along the sidewalk next to the patio where performances were taking place.
In an interview with Love, she says “they were carrying actual Swastika flags and some of the men had automatic rifles.” She added that the Nazi’s were chanting random nonsensial hate speech.
The disturbing event gained attention when Ohio native and former Miss Congeniality from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11, Nina West, posted a video of the event taking place on her Instagram. West wrote in her post that the harassers were “shouting horrific remarks, doing the Nazi salute, and using any type of intimidation they could muster. They held a banner that said ‘There Will Be Blood.’”
Love explained that they instructed all of the brunch guests and performers to drown the hate out with love. Allies then held up blankets and jackets to cover up the Nazi intimidators.
West’s Instagram post also wrote that Virginia, Love, and the people in attendance were not deterred by the presence of the Nazi’s. West wrote that she was not shocked, but rattled.
Love says, “I can only speak for myself. I was not afraid. As a black gay man, I’ve been dealing with ignorance and hate since I was a child. Living in the parameters of intersectionality is like this dance of who is going to be offended by my authentic self. So, when these assholes showed up on that Saturday morning, they weren’t ready for me nor my other co-host.”
The video also shows Virginia West lip syncing to “This Is Me” by Keala Settle and The Greastest Showman Ensemble on a chair to make herself seen in the presence of the disgusting Nazi’s.