The College Fix

‘As America’s cultural revolution continues, OU’s regents seem unwilling to do their part to stop it,’ watchdog says

Over the course of four months, the University of Oklahoma recently paid a total of $29,000 for two drag queen performers.

Oklahoma’s flagship public institution hosted Yvie Oddly in April as the headliner for its annual “Crimson & Queens” drag show, costing $18,000, and earlier this semester, in August, paid Kornbread Jete $11,000 to host drag bingo.

The payments became public through open-records requests filed by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, and payment for both performers came from student fees at OU.

The August Drag Bingo event cost $17,674, and Jete was paid the $11,000 for “a minimum of two (2) songs” and to host bingo, according to the records.

With tuition and mandatory fees for a full-time, in-state Oklahoma student at about $4,800 per semester, the $29,000 would cover six semesters’ worth of tuition.

Both Oddly and Jete have a consistent presence on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

On May 30, Oddly posted he has “family to love and c*cks to suck.” His account also features multiple nude photos, some that are censored and others that are not. In a Sept. 23 post, Oddly suggested he wants his tombstone to read, “God gives his biggest d*cks to his most beautiful women.” [Wording not censored in the original.]

OU emphasized its commitment to diversity and inclusion on its campus as justification for the events.

“The University of Oklahoma embraces our commitment to ensuring diverse voices and beliefs are represented across all OU campuses,” the university told The College Fix in an email. “We believe diversity and inclusion are key components of making our university a place of excellence, openness, and learning.”

An official from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, the liberty-minded think tank that filed the public records request, called the expenditures a waste.

“OU paying men to dress up as hypersexualized caricatures of women—and defending it on the grounds of ‘diversity’—is merely a symptom of a much deeper problem at OU, namely, the school’s unwavering commitment to the unholy trinity of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Brandon Dutcher, senior vice president of Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, told The College Fix in an email.

The University of Oklahoma’s Gender and Equity Center has at least nine events planned for the fall 2023 semester, including: Proudly Gleaming: Rainbow Road Rave; Queersgiving; and another Crimson and Queens show set for Dec. 2, according to the center’s website.

The center also offers services to assist trans students in legally changing their names and provides “LGBTQ+ Aspiring Ally Training” for other students.

“As America’s cultural revolution continues, OU’s regents seem unwilling to do their part to stop it,” Dutcher told The Fix.

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IMAGE: UO

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