North Carolina Political Ad Targeting Jamie Ager Over Farm Drag Event Sparks Legal Threats and Backlash
A newly released political advertisement targeting North Carolina Democratic congressional candidate Jamie Ager over a past family-friendly festival at his family’s farm has ignited sharp backlash, drawing a cease-and-desist notice from a drag performer and demands for removal from a prominent regional LGBTQ advocacy group as Election Day approaches.
The 30-second commercial was launched by the National Republican Congressional Committee in the race for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, where Ager is facing Republican state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom. The advertisement highlights a May 2019 event hosted at Hickory Nut Gap Farms, Ager’s family business, which featured children’s activities and a performance by the Beer City Sisters, a group associated with drag performances that describes its members as 21st-century nuns dedicated to promoting universal joy and eradicating guilt.
The commercial opens with a warning label reading “Not suitable for children,” followed by an artificial intelligence-generated depiction of Ager stating that Washington, D.C., needs more barn dances. The narrator then claims Ager hosted a drag queen barn dance in his barn with children, referencing specific stage names associated with the performers. The advertisement also points to a $5,000 contribution listed in Ager’s campaign finance filing directed to Blue Ridge Pride.
Archival social media posts from April 2019 show that Hickory Nut Gap actively promoted the appearance of the Beer City Sisters ahead of the festival, describing the performers as altruistic guests who serve the local community through self-expression and irreverent humor. Following the release of the recent campaign advertisement, the farm’s original Facebook post promoting the event was locked to restrict guest posting permissions.
Individuals featured or referenced in the commercial quickly pushed back on social media. Tara Schlayer, a performer known as Sister Domina Trix, issued a formal cease-and-desist notice directed at the North Carolina Republican Party. Schlayer accused the party of unauthorized use of her name, likeness, and identity within a fabricated news reel utilizing artificial intelligence, demanding the immediate removal of the material from all platforms and reserving the right to pursue legal remedies.
Other performers linked to the controversy also responded online, with some criticizing the creation process of the digital media and others reacting with satirical commentary. Meanwhile, Blue Ridge Pride, the LGBTQ organization cited in the commercial, issued both a direct letter to Rep. Balkcom and a public press release demanding the ad be pulled from the air.
Madison Root, president of Blue Ridge Pride’s board of directors, asserted that the commercial utilized the organization’s logo without authorization and featured false claims regarding financial contributions. Root stated that as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, Blue Ridge Pride maintains strict bipartisan standards and does not accept political donations.
In an official statement released by Blue Ridge Pride, the organization clarified that while Jamie Ager had applied to sponsor its upcoming 2026 Pride Festival, that application was formally denied and the accompanying funds were returned to ensure the event remained free from political platforming. The organization criticized the use of artificial intelligence to depict events that did not occur, calling on campaigns to remove the disputed advertisement immediately.
