Two kuīni whakarākei and their business, Haus of Flash, have filed a defamation claim against Brian Tamaki and some of his followers in the Auckland High Court.
One of the two drag queens, Sunita Torrance, aka Coco Flash, was with her barrister Christopher Griggs outside the court today, where she spoke to media saying this case was about hate speech versus free speech.
“Brian Tamaki and members of his Destiny Church decided they don’t like us much and have mounted a crusade against us and our act.
“Their constant threats and very worrying intimidation and bullying tactics has forced the cancellation of many of our shows, badly impacting my business.
“But this is not just about a business. This is about hate speech versus free speech.”
They have listed 16 defamation claims against Tamaki and his followers.
“Inducing breach of contract, relating to contracts with local councils that were cancelled due to the actions of the defendants.
“Conspiracy to injure and unlawful means conspiracy, relating to actions to ‘injure our legitimate business interests’.”
Torrance spoke about the mental toll this journey had been for her.
“The emotional toll has been the threats, the publishing of my home address all over the internet, and my own safety.”
She claimed one of the threats she had received came from a “well-known church member” who told her they had been told “to attack on sight, when we see you [Torrance]”. This was in relation to a Hasting drag storytime show.
One of the performers, Daniel Lockett, aka Erika Flash, has said he had to leave the country due to the threats received and is now back in the UK.
Torrance hopes Lockett will return to Aotearoa to come into court with her.
“I do definitely want him here for part of it.
“He wishes he could be here. He’s worked his little butt off to make videos from over there
“It’s just hard at this time, he’s only just relocated. We’ll have to fundraise to get him back for the big stuff,” she said.
She said Lockett has been struggling to find work due to his name being attached to everything in Aotearoa between Destiny Church and drag queens.
They had raised over $30,000 from their initial Givealittle page, which has funded the initial costs of getting it to court. They have now started a new page where the goal is now $130,000.
This came after Haus of Flash Entertainment had to cancel its Rainbowtime readings across the country a few months ago.
This was around the same time Destiny Church was in the media due to some of its followers painting over a rainbow crossing in Gisborne.
In Auckland a Karangahape Road rainbow crossing was also painted over and the husband of Brian Tamaki’s granddaughter was convicted and discharged for vandalising the crossing. Ford O’Connor also agreed to pay $16,000 for the cost of restoring the rainbow crossing.
Te Ao Māori News has asked Destiny Church for comment on the case.
