Desmond Napoles aka Desmond Is Amazing is a self-proclaimed Drag Kid. At 11-years-old, he (and his mom who manages his social media) has gained quite the following since he was first went viral for strutting in the New York City Pride March in 2015 while wearing a pink tutu. He has been praised for his unabashed confidence, fabulousness, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth.
According to his website, Desmond first discovered drag while watching RuPaul’s Drag Race with his mom as a toddler; it’s been his passion ever since. He uses the art as a way to express himself and help inspire others to stay true to themselves. Despite his constant spreading of positivity and generally being unproblematic, he and his family have been scrutinized for his flamboyancy by social media spectators.
People are so offended by this kid’s existence that his family has racked up over 200 complaints with New York City’s Administration for Child Services (ACS), according to Yahoo Lifestyle.
Wendy, Desmond’s mother, said the complaints started flooding in when photos and videos of one of Desmond’s performances at a New York City gay bar were posted on his Instagram account. People online were furious that Desmond was at the bar at such a young age. However, Wendy explained to Yahoo Lifestyle that “the place does have a bar, but the bar is in a whole separate room divided by several doors. Desmond was only allowed on the stage and in his private dressing room.”
Still, the whole thing turned into a huge media frenzy and pretty soon, Desmond’s parents were accused of letting their son strip in a gay club for pedophiles.
Since December 2018, over 200 cases have been opened up with the ACS regarding the Napoles family. Wendy told Yahoo the ACS would stop by their house both announced and unannounced at all hours of the day:
“They would come at 3 in the morning even on school nights. They would visit Desmond at his school several times a week and pull him out of class. His grades went down, he thought it was embarrassing, he just started middle school. It’s just been a really horrible experience.”
In the end, the report from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services was determined to be “unfounded,” meaning that “CPS did not find believable proof (credible evidence) that a child was abused or maltreated.”
So basically, all the keyboard warriors who reported the Napoles family did was ensure the investigation of parents who unconditionally love and support their child which then took away CPS resources away from other children who are in actual danger.
As for Desmond, he’s not going anywhere. According to Yahoo, his parents have asked for additional security measures at school because of the harassment he’s faced as a result of the investigations, however, he is still active on his Instagram page and is making the world more fabulous one day at a time.