Ad rips Kamala Harris for posing with anti-Catholic drag troupe
A Catholic advocacy group is drawing attention to footage of Vice President Kamala Harris posing with members of a drag troupe known for cosplaying as nuns and performing sexually suggestive dances with a cross.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is an LGBT activist group comprised of drag performers who wear religious habits. Critics have referred to the organization as an “anti-Catholic hate group,” accusing its members of making a mockery of the faith.
On Monday, CatholicVote released a six-figure ad campaign that includes footage of then-U.S. Sen. Harris posing with SPI member Michael Williams (“Sister Roma”) and LGBT activist James Mitchell (“Saint Honey Mahogany”) during a 2019 San Francisco pride event. Williams has been a member of SPI since 1987, according to the Catholic advocacy group.
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In addition to showing Harris on stage during the LGBT event, the ad shows a montage of clips, including one of a highly sexual dance routine featuring a man on a cross. One of the performers is seen posed on a cross in an imitation of Jesus’ crucifixion while another half-naked man dances suggestively.
Last year, one of the group’s former members, Clinton Monroe Ellis-Gilmore, was arrested for allegedly exposing himself in the driver’s seat of a parked car. Authorities said multiple witnesses saw the 53-year-old man sitting in his truck with the door open and masturbating for an hour.
“Why is Kamala Harris posing with the founder of an anti-Catholic hate group? They mock our faith,” a voiceover in the ad asks. Another voice recording in the ad explains, “The sisters are men who dress in lewd imitation of Roman Catholic nuns that intentionally mock and degrade Christians.”
Describing what took place in one of their performances, Bishop Robert Barron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota lamented, “A drag queen comes in and sort of pulls Jesus off the cross. For Catholics, it’s hard to imagine anything more offensive.”
In a statement provided to The Christian Post, CatholicVote said it plans to text the ad to 1 million Catholic voters in swing states. The advocacy group also intends to share it with their 750,000 “highly engaged activist networks.”
CatholicVote called on Harris to condemn SPI and its “disgusting anti-Catholic behavior.” As CatholicVote President Brian Burch told CP, the drag troupe is “no ordinary LGBT activist group.”
Burch stressed that SPI regularly holds “Hunky Jesus” competitions, where adult drag performers dressed as Jesus or the Virgin Mary simulate sex acts or engage in stripteases. He also recalled an incident in which SPI members tricked a Catholic archbishop into providing the Holy Eucharist, only to desecrate it later in a mock Mass.
“This kind of hatred and bigotry cannot be tolerated, much less celebrated by anyone wishing to lead our nation,” Burch stressed. “Kamala Harris must publicly condemn these sacrilegious actions and any group that exists to mock and defile what is most sacred to Catholics or any person of faith.”
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
Leaders of pro-life and faith-based groups have raised concerns about how a potential Harris administration would address their needs.
During an interview with Harris last week, NBC’s Hallie Jackson asked the presidential hopeful whether she would consider “religious exemptions” to a nationwide abortion mandate. Harris responded, “I don’t think we should be making concessions.”
In an X post following the interview, the pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America cited the vice president’s remark as evidence of her intention to “federally steamroll Americans into taking part in abortions against their will.”
CatholicVote also published an X post in response to the vice president’s comments, sharing a clip of the interview and asking why Christians would vote for Harris.
“Kamala Harris admits she would deny religious exemptions for abortions — forcing Christians to kill unborn children and seemingly doubling down on weaponizing the government to jail pro-lifers who pray outside abortion facilities,” the group stated.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
