Tool singer protests Florida drag laws with fake breasts and wig

The frontman of rock band Tool, Maynard James Keenan, has protested against Florida’s new anti-drag ban by dressing up in drag during a recent performance in the Sunshine state.

The band played at the Welcome to Rockville festival, in Daytona, on Sunday (21 May), where Keenan donned a blonde wig, red lipstick and prosthetic breasts.

Just days before the performance, Florida governor Ron DeSantis enacted five anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including one that banned drag shows.

The others expanded the state’s Don’t Say Gay law, and targeted trans health care, the use of public toilets by trans people and trans youth in sport.

HB1438 bans drag performances where children are present and hard-line Republican DeSantis has said it’s to protect children from “indoctrinating and confusing concepts like gender identity”.

Welcome to Rockville was an all-ages event, meaning Keenan’s performance was technically illegal.

It is not clear if any action has been taken against the festival, which is liable to be fined under the law that states the admission of a child to an “adult live performance… constitutes an immediate, serious danger”.

The Tool frontman isn’t a stranger to performing in a costume. At last year’s Bonnaroo festival, in Tennessee, he wore a suit, slicked-back black wig and bright red lipstick while performing with his other band, Puscifer.

Keenan has not commented about the outfit or performance, only posting AI-altered photos of himself on Twitter.

Lizzo similarly defied a state drag ban, to some extent, last month. During her concert in Tennessee on 21 April, the singer brought out a line-up of drag queens, including stars of Drag Race.

Tennessee became the first state to pass a drag ban bill and it was set to come into effect on 1 April. However, a federal judge ruled it too broad to be enacted – in its current form even some Shakespeare plays could be banned – and temporarily blocked it.