Denied wig, heels at Knesset, Israeli drag queen slams ‘homophobic atmosphere’

Drag queen Dudu Edri, who uses the stage name Miss Cherry, says he was denied permission to bring accessories into the Knesset; security at the site denies that version of events.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

An Israeli drag queen who visited the Knesset on Wednesday morning said that the political institution is fundamentally “homophobic” because guards allegedly refused to allow him to don a wig and heels in the building.

Last month, Dudu Edri wrote a viral Facebook post about being the victim of a hate crime when teenage boys near his apartment on Dizengoff Street pelted his window with stones while shouting homophobic slurs.

Edri, who was invited to speak to a panel of lawmakers about anti-LGBT discrimination in Israel, arrived at the Knesset building sporting a full face of heavy makeup, carrying stilettos and an ornate wig in a gym bag.

According to Edri, Knesset security required him to leave his accouterments outside of the building. He told the panel later that morning that being banned from bringing in his drag get-up was an indication of serious discrimination in the country.

“I wanted to enter [the Knesset building] with my bag [containing] a wig and heels, it’s not some huge load of cargo,” Edri, who uses the drag name Miss Cherry, complained. “People have brought much bigger things into the Knesset before.

“If the atmosphere in the Knesset is so homophobic that I can’t bring in a poor wig, I’m not surprised that a bunch of boys outside my house, who saw we were preparing for a drag show, threw stones at our window.”

Notably, Hebrew-language news outlet Mako spoke to sources at the Knesset who had witnessed the event. They said that the guards did not forbid Edri from entering with his bag – instead, they told him to wait while they consulted with a higher-up, who gave permission several minutes later.

However, rather than wait for the matter to be clarified, Edri decided to leave his bag outside and enter the building without it, the witnesses said.