Gay bar halts Palestinian burlesque dancer's show over her sign 'targeting' Jews — then apologizes after drag backlash

A Philadelphia gay bar banned a Palestinian burlesque dancer from taking the stage because of her sign "targeting" Jews — but following fierce drag community backlash, the bar apologized.

What are the details?

A Dec. 8 show at Tabu Lounge and Sports Bar in the city's so-called Gayborhood advertised Palestinian burlesque dancer Leila Delicious as one of the featured acts, but the bar stopped her performance, which would have used a sign that read, "OUR GENERATION WILL FREE PALESTINE," PhillyVoice reported.

An X post from performer Mew Ikki indicated Tabu had told Delicious that the bar didn't want political commentary or performances about the Israel-Hamas war, the outlet said.

The next day Tabu released a now-deleted statement on social media saying the bar "strongly condemns all forms of hate speech, including the recent display of a sign promoting genocide against Jews," PhillyVoice said, adding that the bar said an image of Delicious' sign making the rounds lacked "full context" since it showed only showed one side — and that the other side "contains text targeting the Jewish community."

The text on the other side of the sign read, "BIDEN, DEMAND A CEASEFIRE / IF YOU SUPPORT GENOCIDE, You ISREAL DUMB!"

What happened next?

PhillyVoice said many in the city's drag and burlesque community blasted Tabu on social media, challenged the bar's claim that the other side of the sign was anti-Semitic, and rose up in solidarity with Delicious, saying they wouldn't perform at Tabu or attend shows there.

With that, Tabu deleted its original statement condemning Delicious and posted a longer statement Sunday afternoon, the outlet reported: "While our initial decision to prevent a performer from addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict was made with the intention of fostering a positive environment, we now recognize that it had unintended consequences."

The statement from the bar — which PhillyVoice said didn't immediately respond to requests for comment — added that the original move was meant to ensure "emotional safety" for everyone in the venue and that Tabu "may have misinterpreted the intention" of the sign, which did not promote genocide against Jewish people.

The statement also included an apology to Delicious, who was not directly named in the text, and added that Tabu management will reach out to her for an "open conversation," the outlet noted.

Not enough, apparently

In a follow-up story, PhillyVoice said nearly 70 performers and producers signed a letter expressing solidarity with Delicious and demanding more action from Tabu's ownership.

The outlet said attorney Amer Zahr, who's also president of New Generation for Palestine, shared the letter with PhillyVoice, adding that the letter says Tabu's statement placed Delicious "at considerable physical risk," citing recent anti-Palestinian hate crimes, and lists two demands: a commitment to "freedom of expression and speech" with concrete guidelines on what is allowed and an apology to Delicious that retracts the accusation of "promoting genocide."

“I am simply calling for justice, dignity, and respect. I never thought that calling for an end to genocide would end up in an accusation of genocide against me," Delicious said in a statement included in Zahr's email, the outlet added. "Sadly, the environment we are in seeks to silence Palestinian voices. As a Palestinian, I refuse to be silent."

PhillyVoice said the letter's signees indicated they won't perform or work at Tabu until management meets the letter's demands.

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