The United States Navy’s use of a drag queen as an online ambassador in a bid to entice younger recruits has sparked a renewed debate about LGBTQ+ inclusion amid a nationwide push by conservatives to restrict LGBT+ rights, specifically for transgender individuals as well as drag queens
Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, who goes by the stage name Harpy Daniels, announced on social media in November that they had been invited to become a “digital ambassador” for the Navy, and has performed drag acts for sailors.
Despite the fact that Kelley’s involvement in the program being widely publicized at the time of its launch. far-right Twitter account Libs of TikTok posted a video on the subject on Tuesday, which has since garnered over 3 million views.
One self-described Trump supporter, wrote sarcastically: “This must strike fear in our enemies.”
“The Village People couldn’t recruit gays to the Navy before so I don’t know why they think it works now,” another Twitter user tweeted.
While Kelley became a digital ambassador for the Navy in 2022, his drag act has been publicized since 2018. “I have many LGBT friends here, and if you can stand at attention properly and speak with proper etiquette, that’s what it comes down to in the Navy,” he told NBC News at the time. “I’ve not once had a bad experience as a gay man in the military.”
The military has a huge recruiting/retention crisis because they went woke. How did they try to fix it? By going more woke. Meet Joshua Kelley. Drag name Harpy Daniels. U.S. Navy named him Digital Ambassador to recruit new demos to join the Navy. Insane. pic.twitter.com/2DWOAIgWr4
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 2, 2023