A Texas lawmaker who authored a bill that would restrict drag performances appears to have dressed in drag himself while a student.
A video that surfaced on Twitter and TikTok this week appears to show Texas state Rep. Nate Schatzline, a Republican, skipping, running and dancing in a park while donning a black sequined dress and a red eye mask. At the end of the roughly 90-second video which plays over the song Sexy Lady by Javi Mula the four participants are named, including Schatzline, whose character is called The Virgin.
Nate Schatzline has made his entire personality attacking the LGBTQ community, trans especially children, and vowed to ban drag shows in Texas, the Twitter user, who did not respond to a request for comment, wrote. Here is Nate in drag.
Schatzline, a first-term state representative and former pastor, did not immediately respond to NBC News request for comment. However, in a tweet shared Tuesday, he appeared to confirm his participation in the video.
Yall really going crazy over me wearing a dress as a joke back in school for a theatre project? Yah, thats not a sexually explicit drag show lol yall will twist ANYTHING, he wrote.
The emergence of Schatzlines video came several days after an image of what appears to be Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee dressed in drag as a high school student was shared on Reddit and Twitter. Lees press secretary, Jade Cooper Byers, did not confirm whether it is Lee in the yearbook photo, previously telling NBC News in an email that any attempt to conflate this serious issue with lighthearted school traditions is dishonest and disrespectful to Tennessee families.
Answering reporters questions Monday, Lee, a Republican, confirmed that he would sign a recently passed bill that would criminalize drag performances in public and in front of children in the state.
The video of the Texas lawmaker also comes about a month after an image emerged on social media that appeared to show embattled Republican Rep. George Santos of New York in drag. At the time, Santos told reporters as he walked through a New York airport: No, I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys. I was young and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life.
I don't want to say this happens every single time, but it sure does happen an awful lot.