A children’s storytelling theatre show hosted by a drag queen has been cancelled after organisers said the host was subjected to “abusive and threatening messages”.
Drag Queen Storytime, hosted by performer Miss Peaches, was due to take place on Saturday morning at the DCA in Dundee.
However, DCA announced the event had been cancelled after online threats were made against the Dundee-based performer, as well as arts centre staff.
DCA said that as a result, Miss Peaches did not feel safe and the performance would not go ahead.
The arts centre apologised to ticket holders and said it hopes to reschedule the performance soon.
DCA added it had made a donation to LGBT Youth Scotland as a result of the threats, “in recognition of the struggles faced by the LGBT community on a daily basis”.
In a statement, DCA said: “We are very sorry to say that today’s Drag Queen Storytime event was unable to go ahead because of the hateful and intimidatory behaviour of a small number of people online, which led to the performer feeling unsafe.
“We are appalled that she and members of our team have received abusive and threatening messages this week, and have reported this behaviour to the police.
“We refuse to be intimidated by hate speech and abusive behaviour and hope very much to reschedule this event soon. In the meantime we will be making a donation to LGBT Youth Scotland in recognition of the struggles faced by the LGBT community on a daily basis.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers received a report of threatening messages being made online in relation to a planned show at Dundee Contemporary Arts gallery.
“Following enquiries, no criminality was established.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country