Over 16,000 people have signed a petition condemning the “LGBTQ agenda” and “indoctrination” in the upcoming Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“The non-binary and transgender extravaganza on display this Thanksgiving will be brought to you by Macy’s during their annually sponsored Thanksgiving Day Parade,” reads the petition by One Million Moms, a division of the American Family Association. “Unless they are forewarned about it, this year’s holiday parade will potentially expose tens of millions of viewers at home to the liberal LGBTQ agenda.”
The petition states that “this liberal nonsense” airing on Thanksgiving will feature self-described “non-binary” performers from Broadway musicals.
One parade performer, Justin David Sullivan, prefers “he/she/they” pronouns and plays “May” in the production & Juliet on Broadway. Sullivan’s artist page says, “To every queer, trans, non-binary, or person of color in the audience, this performance is dedicated to you.” Sullivan declined eligibility at the 2023 Tony Awards because the categories are divided into male and female.
“There’s nothing more that I want to empower than non-binary people, to show that it’s possible to be non-binary on Broadway, play a non-binary character on Broadway and be nominated, and possibly potentially awarded,” Sullivan told Playbill. “I felt like I couldn’t choose. I didn’t feel right being in either category because it didn’t resonate with me.”
Another parade performer, Alex Newell, is a male who uses “all pronouns” and currently plays “Lulu” in the Broadway show Shucked. In the production, Newell sings the song “Independently Owned,” which includes the lyrics, “I won’t change who I’ve always been / A W-O-M-A-N / W-O-M-A-N.”
“I myself may not be trans, but I am heavy on the gender-nonconforming,” Newell said in a 2017 interview, referencing his role as a transgender woman on the television series Glee.
As of today, the petition has almost 17,000 signatures.
In 2021, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade featured pop singer Kim Petras, a male dubbed the “world’s youngest transsexual” for undergoing surgery with special permissions at age 16, before the minimum age of 18 in Germany.
Petras collaborated with Sam Smith, a self-described “non-binary” singer, for the song “Unholy,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the 2023 Grammy Awards, Petras and Smith performed the song in red leather and devil horns, with fire surrounding them and dancers in cages. Republican Senator Ted Cruz called it “evil” on social media, while conservative commentator Matt Walsh said “It’s not surprising to see a satanic ritual at the Grammys.” At least 18 complaints were filed to the Federal Communications Commission over the performance.