Drag queens settle defamation lawsuit against N.H. lawmaker for $100k each plus a public apology – The Boston Globe

McMahon, 25, said he’s a big fan of free speech.

“But I think people need to realize that it comes with consequences,” he said.

Their case highlights a tense environment for drag performers and LGBTQ+ people more broadly, both in New Hampshire and across the country, as conservative state lawmakers and some extremist groups have sought to exert political pressure against rising acceptance and visibility for people who defy binary notions of sex and gender.

Love, a Republican, was sponsoring an ill-fated bill in 2022 to require public libraries to conduct background checks on all staff and volunteers when he cited concerns about recent library events featuring drag queens. He mentioned two performers in particular without naming them.

Love testified before a New Hampshire House committee that one performer had been revealed to be a “convicted sex offender” after an event at a library in Nashua and another had been seen “rubbing butts” with kids during an event that was held at a private venue in Derry after opponents objected to holding the event at the local library — but he didn’t have his facts straight.

In bringing their lawsuit, Champion and McMahon alleged Love had clearly been referring to them. They noted Champion had performed for a teen-oriented event at the Nashua Public Library, and McMahon had performed for a family-friendly storytime event at the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry.

Love claimed the lawsuit hadn’t adequately alleged that his comments were about the plaintiffs, but Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Brian T. Tucker disagreed. In a preliminary ruling in January, he found that Champion and McMahon had each outlined a plausible defamation claim.

Tucker also rejected an assertion that Love was entitled to absolute legislative immunity for comments he made as a sitting lawmaker discussing pending legislation.

Although the New Hampshire Constitution says legislative speech and debate “cannot be the foundation of any action, complaint, or prosecution,” that shield didn’t apply to comments Love made when he expounded on his testimony during a subsequent public meeting and an interview with a local online news outlet, Tucker ruled.

In a statement released as part of the settlement agreement, Love said he had been given inaccurate information and failed to verify it before publicly relaying false claims about Champion and McMahon in the legislative hearing then repeating the claims during a Derry Town Council meeting and an interview with the Manchester Ink Link.

“I have since learned that those assertions were completely false,” he said. “I wish to publicly retract those statements and apologize to Robert and Michael.”

The statement said Love has agreed to a monetary judgment of $100,000 for each plaintiff.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Olivia F. Bensinger of Shaheen & Gordon, released Love’s statement to the Globe on Wednesday when asked about the settlement, which was first reported by the Manchester Ink Link. The terms of the agreement are confidential aside from the text of the statement, she said.

This outcome shows “there are consequences for defamatory remarks,” Bensinger added.

A motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed Monday by the parties because a settlement had been reached.

Love and his attorneys, Gretchen M. Wade and Michael J. Tierney, did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did they answer emailed questions regarding the source of the funds Love would use to pay the $200,000 settlement.

Love, who represents Rockingham County District 13 in the New Hampshire House, is running for re-election.

Tense environment for drag performers

Drag performances, particularly those advertised as family-friendly, have been the subject of political controversy in recent years, not just for policymakers but also for extremist groups.

“Drag has been under attack,” Champion said, recounting recent examples of far-right groups seeking to intimidate performers and attendees.

In June 2023, the Weeks Memorial Library in Lancaster, N.H., canceled an LGBTQ+ Pride group’s Drag Story Hour event with just four days’ notice, citing safety concerns after a barrage of harassing phone calls and public backlash. That same month, a group of masked neo-Nazis from the Nationalist Social Club-131 (NSC-131) shouted and knocked on windows of the Teatotaller cafe in Concord, N.H., to disrupt and intimidate those who gathered for a family-oriented drag event inside. And in November another fascist group, the Proud Boys, distributed pamphlets ahead of a Teatotaller drag event.

New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella is pressing civil rights charges against NSC-131 and the masked individuals for their alleged efforts to terrorize Teatotaller patrons on account of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex.

As similar incidents and litigation have happened elsewhere in New England and across the country, the headlines have felt personal for Champion and McMahon and others like them.

“Every time we do shows now, we’re always looking, we’re always watching, we’re always on high alert,” Champion said. “It’s so hard to just relax and enjoy your job as a drag queen because you’re so afraid of violence now.”

All the while, Champion said, a sense of uncertainty about the pending defamation lawsuit lingered in the back of his mind. Even though it was clear Love had spread lies about them, the positive outcome they ultimately secured was never guaranteed, he said.

“So you live with this fear,” he said. “Somebody put out there that I was a pedophile. Are people going to believe that? Are people going to come after me for that?”

Debate rages over age appropriateness

While critics often say drag performances are hypersexualized and categorically inappropriate for kids, advocates for the art form contend performers generally tailor their material to their audience and venue, much like stand-up comics.

Champion, the father of an 8-year-old boy, likened the diversity of drag styles and performances to the diversity of movie genres. While some are family-friendly, others are not, he said.

“If we’re going into an event for children, obviously we’re not going to go in there doing anything inappropriate for children,” he added.

Champion — who has been doing drag for about as long as McMahon has been alive — said he recalls feeling unsafe at times outside the bars where he performed years ago, but also finds himself wishing things now could be a bit more like they were before cellphones were ubiquitous and drag queens were the focus of so much political ire.

McMahon, who started doing drag shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, said he feels lucky to have come of age in an era with social media, though he acknowledges the downsides. There seems to be more acceptance and more backlash, he said.

One difference now, McMahon added, is that people like him these days are more comfortable being themselves. This settlement agreement represents something of a silver lining in the dark cloud that has lingered overhead for more than two years, he said.

“The more and more we stand up for ourselves, the more and more people are going to realize that like, no, they don’t have to like drag, they don’t have to like this stuff, but that doesn’t mean they can’t respect us,” he said.

Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.