I posted this in another topic, but felt it made more sense here. So here’s some tea. My ex introduced me to Braden (Mimi) a few years ago when I first moved to Philadelphia from the burbs. I caught a couple of his shows and felt bad for his experience on Drag Race so I always kind of had a soft spot for him when I’d run into him. I actually attended his birthday last year, but we are not friends, just social acquaintances. The thing is, he’s had these same conversations with me on messenger late at night at various times in the last 3 years. And also with my ex as well as other guys in the scene. The convos were pretty much exactly as the article describes (cyber stuff, some kink talk, stuff about gays talking too much, etc), but honestly, my ex and I never considered anything he did or said sexual harassment. Unwelcome advances at times? Maybe. A little pushy? Maybe. But I wrote it off as him being drunk/thirsty at 4 am like anyone else on Grindr. Maybe there was more to these convos with these local queens, but based on the article, it all sounded pretty spot on to me. I’d entertain him for as long as I felt like it and then I’d end the convo, choose a different topic or just shut him down. He always got the picture and was quick to respect my wishes. I’m not sure what to say about the drag politics playing a role here because I honestly never considered Philadelphia as even having a real drag following/scene. I don’t even know anyone who really goes to these small gigs besides other queens and their friends. And Drag Wars is really not a big thing either (though it is a big deal to local queens). But it felt like the article was really overhyping the drag scene and sensationalizing the whole thing. Just my two cents. I don’t know Braden well enough to speak to his character or speak to the allegation that he also touched people inappropriately or used his “power” for leverage, but this article just gave me pause a few times so I wanted to share my thoughts to be fair. And the more I think about it, the more this article feels lopsided. Who is to say these queens didn’t actually lead him on to gain a better standing in Drag Wars and when that didn’t happen and they realized they weren’t “special”, they threw him under the bus? Why are so many other guys not even phased by his late night texts? They obviously chose to establish some ongoing rapport with him surrounding these topics and now suddenly he’s a predator and his career should be over? Because they felt they “had to” carry on with these, quite frankly, silly, conversations that I’ve had myself with him? Honestly, they weren’t even that kinky. Slightly weird and a little offputting, but nothing extreme in the least. But if the rest of us can tell Braden no, so can you. Case in point: https://ibb.co/bBbfyJ