Former drag queen Rep. George Santos drops f-bomb on “drag nun” group

Gay Rep. George Santos (R-NY), a former drag queen who lied about being Jewish, is apparently angry about a drag nun group that, according to him, mocks the Catholic faith.

In a June 7 tweet, Santos wrote, “I don’t usually swear but… The ‘Drag nuns’ can F**K ALL THE WAY OFF! The mockery they cast on the Catholic faith is DAMN offensive and WRONG!”

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His tweet was likely a reference to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a longtime activist and protest group whose members wear outfits styled after Catholic nuns as a way to satirize the Catholic church’s centuries-long persecution of the LGBTQ+ community. Many SPI members are people of faith, and some are atheists.

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The group has been criticized by anti-LGBTQ+ Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Catholic groups, and even members of the Catholic church. The Sisters have responded to the criticism by highlighting its years of community service helping groups that have been traditionally demonized by the Church, including people with HIV and homeless transgender youth.

Despite Santos’s defense of Catholicism, he has been accused of disrespecting the Jewish faith by falsely claiming to be Jewish and falsely claiming that his grandparents fled Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. Santos has also been accused of making racist and antisemitic comments in a resurfaced Facebook post.

The Republican Jewish Coalition said that Santos “deceived us” during his election campaign by falsely claiming that he was Jewish. Santos later claimed that he merely joked that he was “Jew-ish.”

Santos has been accused of previously using the alias “Anthony Zabrovsky” to appear more Jewish. He once claimed that his grandparents fled Nazi persecution in Ukraine, but genealogical records show they were both born in Brazil.

In late January, Santos admitted to having been a drag queen during his youth in Brazil after repeatedly denying it.

“No, I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys,” Santos told reporters at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. “I was young, and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life.”

Despite downplaying his drag past, images and videos showed that Santos had “fun” at several festivals over three years. The photos were shared by Eula Rochard, a 58-year-old drag queen in Brazil who said she knew Santos when he was a teen performing in drag under the name Kitara Ravache. A video appeared to show Santos wearing drag at Pride events in 2005 and 2008.

Santos initially denied it, saying, “The most recent obsession from the media claiming that I am a drag Queen or ‘performed’ as a drag Queen is categorically false. The media continues to make outrageous claims about my life while I am working to deliver results. I will not be distracted nor fazed by this.”

Santos’s initial denial followed his admission of numerous lies he has told about his past. His admission also occurred as Republicans and conservatives have increasingly demonized drag queens as sexual predators who “groom” children into sexual abuse and transgender identity.

Santos was arraigned last month and faces 13 federal charges, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, and one count of theft of public funds, related to alleged illegal schemes to enrich himself. Santos pleaded not guilty and was released on a $500,000 bond to await his trial.

He also faces multiple ethics complaints, his constituents are still looking to remove him from office, and Republicans are quietly looking for someone to replace him.