Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel recently made headlines when he featured RuPaul’s Drag Race star Trixie Mattel in a segment called Drag Queen Storytime. In the segment, Mattel read Sen. Ted Cruz’s controversial book, Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America, to a group of children. The decision sparked significant backlash and ignited a debate about appropriateness and political bias in children’s programming.
Kimmel introduced the segment by poking fun at Cruz’s previous book, which struggled to gain popularity. The intention was to help Cruz out by giving his new book some exposure. As Trixie Mattel entered the scene dressed in a sparkly hot pink bodysuit and a blonde bouffant wig, the children appeared excited and eager to hear a story.
Initially, Trixie skimmed through other books, including ones about Sleeping Beauty and the solar system, before settling on Cruz’s book. As she began reading segments aloud, one passage caught the children’s attention. Cruz criticized Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, stating that critics of the film were labeled as racist. However, to Trixie’s surprise, the children interjected to say that they actually enjoyed the remake, asserting that children should have the final say on whether the film was good or not.
The children’s engagement did not stop there. One young boy boldly declared that Cruz’s book was boring. Mattel playfully suggested skipping some pages, but the boy humorously responded by saying, Instead of skipping a page, skip a book! This candid moment added a touch of humor to the segment and further highlighted the children’s disinterest in Cruz’s book.
Trixie Mattel cleverly took another opportunity to mock Cruz, mentioning his controversial decision to travel to Cancun, Mexico, during the devastating winter storms that affected Texas in February 2021. While criticizing Cruz’s actions, she handed each child a copy of the book, encouraging them to do whatever they liked with it. Unanimously, the children opted to throw the books into a nearby trashcan.
Another topic that emerged during the segment was Cruz’s complaint about Disney featuring lesbian toys in their Toy Story spinoff film, Lightyear. However, it is important to note that the film only briefly showcased a lesbian couple and did not include any explicitly labeled lesbian toys. This comment from Cruz sparked further discussion about his views and raised questions about the accuracy of his statements.
Overall, the segment featuring Trixie Mattel reading Ted Cruz’s book to children proved to be controversial, with many viewers expressing concerns about the appropriateness of exposing children to political ideologies. While some found the segment entertaining and light-hearted, others felt that it crossed a line by using children as a platform for political commentary. The inclusion of perspectives from both sides of the debate is crucial in understanding the diverse reactions this segment has generated.
