West Chester had to cancel an LGBTQ celebration after a ‘hate-filled’ response

West Chester canceled an LGBTQ celebration this week after receiving dozens of emails that the borough council president said were “hate-filled” and “vitriolic.”

The Oct. 1 event was supposed to be the Chester County borough’s first OutFest, a celebration in honor of National Coming Out Day.

“The goal of this event was to bring people together and allow those in our community who are marginalized to feel included and supported,” the West Chester Business Improvement District said in a statement. “While there were many logistical challenges that contributed to this decision, including a low number of vendors and volunteers to make it a successful event, it was also due to the vitriol and hate directed at this event and its organizers. We no longer felt as though it was a safe space to put our community in.”

In place of the original event, a similar celebration is in the early stages of being planned in the borough for the same day, but officials and community members say they remain disturbed by the vitriol.

“I think I took for granted that people are just accepting of the LGBTQ community,” borough council president Michael Stefano said. “I was kind of naïve to the fact that there’s still a lot of people out there who have hatred for people who are different from them.”

Stefano said officials began to receive hateful emails from people who opposed OutFest, with the emailers taking particular issue with the fact that drag queens were set to perform.

“I was doing my best to respond to those people as quickly as I could,” Stefano said, “letting them know I am not going to stand for that.”

O’Brien ultimately decided to pull the application for the event at Tuesday’s council meeting, Stefano said, with council supporting his decision.

Stefani Steel, a drag queen who was set to perform at the celebration, said she was “disappointed” the event was canceled due to such a hateful response.

“OutFest and Pride events are a big deal for drag performers,” said Steel, noting the cancellation created widespread buzz among drag performers across the region and in New York. “Having queer events in new areas is super important to all of us.”

While O’Brien said he was not available Thursday for additional comment, he directed a reporter to Eddy Foster, who is in early stages of planning another OutFest event in the borough Oct 1. Having been a part of the West Chester community and the LGBTQ community his entire life, Foster, 35, said he felt it important that an event still be held.

This OutFest celebration is set to include a rally on the courthouse steps, followed by a march downtown and a gathering at a local restaurant, complete with drinks and drag performances, Foster said.

“There have been drag queens at gay events, at Pride, at OutFest, across the country for 40-plus years,” Foster said. “This is something that goes hand in hand. It’s normal and we’re not going to act like it’s not.”

Foster is hopeful this event will not receive the same level of hateful response, he said, because the performances will be held inside a restaurant and does not have the sponsors or financial backing of the original event. The original event was scheduled to be held outdoors from noon to 4 p.m., according to advertisements.

Among those who took issue with the original event was the West Chester Borough Republican Committee. In a Facebook post Monday, the committee asked others who find the drag show “inappropriate” to contact borough council.

The committee did not return a request for comment Thursday.

It’s unclear how many people reached out to council as a result of seeing the post. Stefano said no one who emailed him identified themselves as associated with the local Republican committee.

Amid the hate, Stefano said he was uplifted to see support for members of the LGBTQ community.

“As many emails as I got from people who were upset about it,” he said, “I probably got three times as many emails from people who are really in support of the event and are very upset it’s not going on.”