A 14-year-old was left heartbroken last week after being banned last-minute from performing in drag at his school's end-of-term talent show.
Lewis Bailey, a student at Castle High school and visual arts college in Dudley, is a big fan of RuPaul's Drag Race and calls his drag alter-ego Athena Heart.
He continued: "After all the effort I have put into it, it has knocked my confidence a lot.”
“When I’m in drag I feel I’m truly being myself."
According to The Guardian, Bailey's school claimed that it was illegal for people under the age of 18 to perform in drag.
His mother, Natalie, stood by her son.
"The school, it’s very multicultural, and I think the school think some of the parents won’t like it," she said.
"But people should be able to do what they want to do and be who they want to be.”
Meanwhile, School Principal Michelle King stood by the school's decision.
“We made the decision that it was not age appropriate for either the learner and for the intended audience, his peer group, for Lewis to appear as a ‘drag act’," she told The Guardian.
“We understood Lewis wanted to appear in the style of RuPaul, whose style of performance is characterised by strong language and sexual innuendo. We invited Lewis to appear in the show as a singer and were happy for him to dress in any manner he wished.”
However, it wasn't all bad news for Bailey.
After his story surfaced in the media, the student was contacted by the organisers of DragWorld UK, pegged as “Europe’s largest celebration of drag,” and will now perform alongside popular Rupaul's Drag Race contestants Jinx Monsoon, Bebe Zahara Benet and Farrah Moan.
“I’m very excited about my DragWorld invite to perform and get my name out there so others just like me know that it’s ok to be different,” Bailey told PinkNews.
