Photo of Andy Beshear with drag queens recirculates in governor’s race. What’s the story?

Conservative critics of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear are circulating an old photograph of him posing with a group of drag queens during a 2020 rally in the Kentucky Capitol.

The photo, which shows Beshear posing with Kentucky chapter members of the satirical group The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, has drawn criticism from Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is running to unseat Beshear as governor in November.

Cameron, who took to Twitter to criticize the governor Tuesday, called the charity, protest and street performance organization “an anti-Christian hate group that makes fun of people of faith.”

He also called Beshear’s decision to take the picture with The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence “disqualifying” for a candidate vying to remain governor of Kentucky.

Beshear’s reelection campaign spokesperson Alex Floyd shot back with a comment of his own.

“Rather than trying to pit Kentuckians against each other for cheap political points with a picture from years ago, Daniel Cameron should finally appoint a special prosecutor to look into Matt Bevin’s appalling pardons of child rapists,” Floyd wrote the Herald-Leader in an email Wednesday.

Former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin made several highly controversial pardons before leaving office, including pardoning one man convicted of raping a 9-year-old girl and another who violently sodomized a 15-year-old boy.

“Andy Beshear believes we are all children of God and under his leadership Kentucky will focus on bringing people together to grow the economy and fix problems instead of bullying and division. Andy’s faith is strong and he believes the best way to live that faith is to show love to all, hate and anger to none,” Floyd continued.

Here’s what to know about the context of the photo, Beshear’s response and who The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are as an organization.

What’s the context of the photograph they took with Gov. Beshear?

In February 2020, Beshear became the first sitting Kentucky governor to speak at a statewide LGBTQ rights rally.

Republicans pounced on Beshear’s appearance and used a photo of him posing next to drag queens at the rally to drum up support ahead of a special election for a state House seat in Eastern Kentucky.

At the time, Beshear’s spokesperson, Sebastian Kitchen, said, “Every single Kentuckian is welcome at the Capitol, and attacking the governor for taking a photo with a Kentucky citizen is shameful. Gov. Beshear is working every day to end the hateful and divisive politics that try to pit people against each other instead of focusing on what we have in common.”

In the photo, Beshear poses with drag queens from The Kentucky Fried Sisters, the state chapter of the The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. One drag queen wears a KFC chicken bucket repurposed to resemble a nun’s habit, while another member poses behind Beshear while wearing horns.

Who are The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence?

Founded Easter Sunday in 1979 in San Francisco, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence describes itself as a “leading-edge order of queer and trans nuns” with the mission to “promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt,” according to its mission statement.

“The Sisters have devoted ourselves to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment,” the nonprofit’s website reads. “We use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.”

A list of the group’s 2022 grant recipients shows it has supported causes such as youth access to the visual arts, resources for the deaf and hard of hearing, gender-affirming clothing for transgender youth and education for safe sex and healthy relationships.

Historically, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have played a significant role in HIV/AIDS education, given the group was founded around the start of the public health crisis. It counts early AIDS activists among its membership, and its 1982 pamphlet “Play Fair!” provided information about sexually transmitted infections and safe sex practices to gay men.

Recently, the nonprofit has been the subject of heightened media attention as some Catholics have called for a boycott of the L.A. Dodgers baseball team after a Pride Night event featuring The Sisters.

What are conservatives saying about the photo?

Responding to the photo, Republican gubernatorial nominee Cameron used it as an opportunity to frame Beshear as out of touch.

He told Fox News Digital it was “just another example of how out of touch Andy Beshear is with our values. He’s the governor of Kentucky, not California.”

Beshear does not seem to be shifting position on LGBTQ rights despite the backlash.

The governor has vetoed an anti-trans health care bill, attended a Fairness rally and recognized LGBTQ Pride Month.

Beshear reaffirmed his support of the LGBTQ community at another Fairness rally this year.

“My faith teaches me three things: No. 1, we are all children of God, all of us. Second, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. And third, everyone is our neighbor. No exceptions,” he said at the time.

Herald-Leader Frankfort Bureau Chief Tessa Duvall contributed to this report.

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