Restaurant sues over ‘adult live performances’ law, posts video of child putting cash down drag dancer’s shirt

ORLANDO, Fla. (FLV) – Hamburger Mary’s in Orlando sued the state this week following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ law penalizing businesses who admit children to “adult live performances.”

The business claimed it is not “grooming,” and posted a video of a child putting cash down a drag dancer’s shirt.

The company posted a video May 23 that said, “I am posting this link to show what parents bring their children to see. Old video but a favorite. No nudity, no language, no grooming.”

In the video from 2012, the small child is seen putting money in the performers chest as a tip.

The new law authorizes Florida to fine, suspend, or revoke the license of any public establishment that admits a child to “adult live performances” that depict or simulate nudity, sexual conduct, or lewd exposure.

Hamburger Mary’s offers “‘family friendly’ drag performances on Sundays where children are invited to attend. There is no lewd activity, sexually explicit shows, disorderly conduct, public exposure, obscene exhibition, or anything in appropriate for a child to see,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said prosthetic breasts are commonly used by men impersonating women as part of the “art.”

The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, said the state “seeks to explicitly restrict, or chill speech and expression protected by the First Amendment based on its content, message, and its messenger.”

The owners said after DeSantis signed the law, they informed customers children would not be allowed to attend the drag shows.

Immediately 20% of their bookings have cancelled for May 21, the company claimed.

One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Rep. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach posted his reaction on Twitter.

“Stunned that Orlando’s Hamburger Mary’s filed a lawsuit against @GovRonDeSantis saying they would go out of business if they can’t groom children at sex shows. 20% of their business from kids attending what they say is adult entertainment?!?!? Disgusting and good riddance,” Fine said.

The lawsuit said legislators and the governor “made it clear that this law was created to prevent children from drag shows.”

“This statute cannot survive strict scrutiny. While the government has a recognized interest in ‘protecting children from harmful materials,’ Florida law already protects children from obscenity and sexually explicit content and materials,” the lawsuit explained.

“The broad, sweeping nature of the statute, and the vagueness regarding what conduct is and is not prohibited, will have a chilling effect on the First Amendment rights of the citizens of Florida,” the lawsuit said.

The establishment has set up a GoFundMe account and has raised over $8,000 of their $10,000 goal to help with “court costs.”

“Mike and John are going to need all of our community support as they take on the governor and the state and they appreciate every dollar we can provide!” the GoFundMe said.

The establishment has previously shared multiple images on their Facebook page showing people not wearing pants for “bottomless brunch.”

In another post, the restaurant said, “this bill has nothing to do with children and everything to do with the continued oppression of the LGBTQ+ community.”

“Whenever our legislators want to demonize a group, they claim they are coming for your children. In this case, they are creating a false narrative that drag queens are grooming and recruiting your children, without any factual basis or historical evidence to support these accusations!” the post said.

During an April 12 committee meeting, the bill’s sponsor, Fine, was asked about Hamburger Mary’s.

Multiple Democrats opposed the bill in debate, including Rep. Angela Nixon, D-Jacksonville, who voiced concerns that she would not be able to take her child to Hamburger Mary’s anymore.

“How are you gonna tell me it’s inappropriate for me to take my child to Hamburger Mary’s?” Nixon said.

Fine said he is unfamiliar with the establishment, but never plans to go there.

“If Hamburger Mary’s, whatever they are, is engaged in ‘adult live performances’ as defined by section 827.11 under this bill, then yeah, you couldn’t do that. I don’t know whether they are or not,” Fine said.

“We needed the legislature to come in and really, really clarify that if you are an establishment that’s having adult performances, you have an obligation to make sure that these young kids are not permitted in the premises, and we’re gonna hold you accountable,” DeSantis said previously.

In early February, DeSantis’ office said Florida is “revoking” the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation’s liquor license after a “sexual” drag show permitted entry to minors.

The department said the venue exposed and promoted lewd, obscene, and sexual acts to minors.