Drag queen Pattie Gonia ‘considering legal action’ after Trump uses image in attack ad
Pattie Gonia may seek legal action against Trump (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for GLAAD)
Drag queen and environmental activist Pattie Gonia, who was included in an anti-trans ad by the Trump campaign, said they may seek legal action against the former president.
The ad was shared on Donald Trump’s social media channels and repeated his claims that Democrat nominee Kamala Harris supports taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care for prison inmates and undocumented immigrants.
The commercial also features images and clips of notable LGBTQ+ figures – including Harris posing for pictures with Patti, with the tagline: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
Now, Pattie has taken to social media to denounce the Republican campaign for using the image without their consent.
“Thousands of you are letting me know that I’m in a Trump ad that attacks queer and trans people. Wasn’t exactly on my bingo card this year,” the drag queen, real name Wyn Wiley, said while dressed as the Statue of Liberty.
“In the ad, Trump continues to use queer people to attack Kamala Harris, to divide our nation and to wage war against gender-affirming care, which we know saves lives. Is this seriously the best they’ve got?
“No, the Trump campaign did not have my permission to use my name or likeness. Yes, we are reviewing our legal options, and yes, I’m going to do what queer people always do: turn our pain into something positive.”
Pattie went on to direct their 700,000 followers to a fundraiser for Point of Pride and Trans Lifeline, both of which help provide trans healthcare. It $15,000 (£11,500) by the time it closed.
“Vote this fall and make America gay again,” Pattie added.
In a statement given to The Advocate, Pattie’s spokesperson, Jenny Dugan, said: “We are exploring legal options right now and have been advised not to speak further on it at the current time.”
When the ad was released, GLAAD president and chief executive Sarah Kate Ellis said it “reek[ed] of desperation”.
Voters have “repeatedly rejected candidates who target transgender people and have strongly stated that they want extremists out of our doctors’ offices and private lives”, she added.
“Extremists would rather deploy divisive strategies like this than defend how they stripped the right to choose, allowed [COVID-19] to kill millions and wrecked the economy.”
One social media user said: “This is how you know Trump is desperate, [Florida governor Ron] DeSantis’ style of rage-bait flopped at the national level but they seem to have forgotten that.” Another wrote: “They’re going full on trans panic. This has been one of the least successful campaign strategies in US politics.”
Mark McKenna, a professor at the UCLA School of Law and an expert in trademark legislation, told said NBC News it could be “very difficult” for Pattie to sue for damages.
“If this were not a political ad, but a commercial ad, I would have no trouble saying this person has a very strong claim,” he said. “But a political ad gets a lot more leeway and normally we don’t give people claims to stop political speech unless the speech rises to the level of defamation.”
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