Pattie Gonia, an American drag queen, has revealed that she is considering legal action against Donald Trump’s team for using her image in his electoral campaign without permission.
The disputed video, which focuses on transgender policy, shows Vice President Kamala Harris expressing her support for the community, along with Gonia, whose real name is Wyn Wiley, at a Pride event in 2022.
The narration contrasts Harris with “The Donald,” highlighting the use of gender-neutral pronouns commonly adopted by non-binary individuals: “Kamala is for them, President Trump is for you.”
The performer promptly responded to the provocation by posting a video on her social media channels, in which, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, she expressed her indignation: “No, the Trump campaign did not have my permission to use my name or likeness. Yes,we are reviewing our options, and yes, I’m going to do what queer people always do, turn our pain into something positive.”
With over 690,000 followers on Instagram and 460,000 on TikTok, the artist then directed her fans to a fundraiser benefiting two LGBTQ+ organizations.
Despite Gonia perceiving the ad as offensive, Mark McKenna, a legal expert at UCLA, the University of California, Los Angeles, explained that it would be difficult for the drag queen to win a legal case, given the nature of the ad.
“If this were not a political ad, but a commercial ad, I would have no trouble saying this person has a very strong claim. But a political ad just gets a lot more leeway and normally we don’t give people claims to stop political speech unless the speech rises to the level of defamation”.
This issue has once again brought the debate over transgender people’s access to gender-affirming care into the spotlight. Harris, during her past tenure as California Attorney General, opposed such treatments, although she later shifted her stance—though her position remains somewhat undefined.
Gonia ended her video with a provocative call to vote, mocking one of Trump’s most famous slogans:
“Make America gay again,” and added, “You’re fired!”
