Governor Ron DeSantis Will Revoke Hyatt Regency Miami’s Alcohol License

Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration says they will revoke the alcohol license of the Hyatt Regency Miami over a “‘sexually explicit’ show with children” held on the premises.

“A Drag Queen Christmas” performed Dec. 27 at the James L. Knight Center, which is reportedly connected to the Hyatt Regency Miami.

The administrative complaint said minors younger than 16 years of age were at the show where “performers appeared on stage wearing sexually suggestive clothing and prosthetic female genitalia.”

The show allowed minors if they were accompanied by an adult.

Here’s video from a similar show around the same time elsewhere in the state:

Apparently the state warned the hotel on the day of the event over hosting “a sexually explicit show with children present.” The show features “Screwdolph the Red-Nippled Reindeer.”

Governor DeSantis’s press secretary said,

Sexually explicit content is not appropriate to display to children and doing so violates Florida law. Governor DeSantis stands up for the innocence of children in the classroom and throughout Florida.

To me, the hotel lacks a club lounge and considers a large room without a wall between bedroom and living area to be a standard suite, so I’m not a fan on that level. However if I’m stuck at the Hyatts around Miami I probably do need a drink. More broadly, the loss of an alcohol license in Miami is… brutal.

As for Governor DeSantis, it’s politically shrewd because few voters who would ever support him will back children at the sort of shows he’s condemning. He’s likely getting more media savvy as well, having lost the framing of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ when he should have positioned it as “wait until eight.”

The State of Florida, though, only alleges that there were children “under 16” present – and children were required to be accompanied by adults. So it appears that the state here isn’t protecting families from sexualized content, they’re taking away freedom from parents to make choices for their families.

Update: Hyatt Regency Miami General Manager Amir Blattner shares,

The James L. Knight Center, including programming and ticketing, is managed by a third-party operator. The hotel is the food and beverage concessionaire at the James L. Knight Center.

We can confirm the hotel’s liquor license remains in effect and has not been revoked. We are reviewing this complaint and will address the situation directly with the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation as part of administrative review process.

The hotel’s position seems to be that their alcohol license hasn’t yet been pulled, and they’re not responsible for the event but they did serve the alcohol. I’d have rather seen a statement like, “come on, it’s a drag show kids could only come with their parents and what does alcohol have to do with it?”

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. I don’t know if it’s true but I have seen Donald Trump’s Truth social account share an image of Ron DeSanctus with underage girls while he was in college. Creepy!

  2. The property was duly warned that the activity was not permissible and ramifications were possible . They proceeded to allow it anyway.

    No matter what side of the aisle you are on with this, when a government agency warns you NOT to do something and you go against advice expect the hammer

  3. However, Conservatives have lost freedom for 100 years by not fighting and not weaponizing our governments we control against our enemies.

    — John Arton, March 14, 2023 at 3:40 pm

    You must joking. In fact, as I read the comment, I was convinced that it was just satire or sarcasm, and that the commenter believed the exact opposite.

    With a razor-thin majority in the House, congressional Republicans just “weaponized the government” purportedly to investigate the “weaponization of government” by the libs and, so far, all they’ve managed is to fire blanks, with the only evidence of anyone “weaponizing the government” to emerge being their own “weaponization” of it to go after their perceived enemies and validate their unhinged conspiracy theories.

    As for the topic of the post, I take no position other than to say that if Hyatt Regency Miami broke any laws on the books, then it deserves the punishment, otherwise the revocation of the booze license is a clear “weaponization of government” for political ends…

    Gotta go.

  4. Welcome to the free state of Florida!

    Where an adult can choose to take a child to a rated-R film with sex and violence but not to a drag show.

  5. According to the complaint the “acts of simulated sexual activity, and lewd, vulgar, and indecent displays” included:
    Performers forcibly penetrating or rubbing exposed prosthetic female breasts against faces of audience members
    Intentionally exposing performers’ prosthetic female breasts and genitalia to the audience
    Intentionally exposing performers’ buttocks to the audience
    Simulating masturbation through performers’ digitally penetrating prosthetic female genital
    Graphic depictions of childbirth and/or abortion

    Gotta go

  6. OMG a drag show in Miami? I never (clutching my pearls).

    White supremicist gatherings in hotels? Fine. Drag shows in hotels? Catch me … I feel faint.

    Heaven help us if this guy ever ends up moving his ridiculous fear mongering sideshow outside Florida.

  7. Thanks Gary Lefftist. You may want to just report of travel related articles w/o your leftist views and commentary in the future. You may actually gain some followers in the future. Just a thought!

  8. So I’d like to know If parents want to take their minor children to a strip club is that allowed?
    The answer is no, A patron has to be at least 18 and if there’s alcohol 21.

  9. Given that you can be instantly put out of business through the political whims of a dictatorial governor, Florida is certainly no place to invest.

  10. When will Trump start pummeling DeSantis more directly as “Ron dePedophile teacher” for “partying” with his drunk teenage students.

  11. So if Newsom is media savvy too, could he find some pretext to revoke the liquor license of Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles? And then if this proves not to be a problem for hosting Saudi golf tournaments, box them into a new special district governed by a board he appoints?

  12. @Tom – you conveniently left out the part of kids being involved. Seriously, you’re OK with that??

  13. @ David

    Get real, dude. Right wing twats have a problem with….drum roll….drag shows.

    It offends their narrow minded view of the world and their abject sexual hang ups. The kids angle is just a convenient excuse for political opportunism. I call it out for what it is – disgusting politics. Shame on you and others for being so easily manipulated.

    But there you go..so many DRWAs on this website and presumably the US generally. Just another example of hypocrisy of the right wing conservative claim to supremacy in freedoms only selectively accepted. Vile stuff indeed because it shites on others from a great height (in this case the employees of the business you want to punish).

    Your right wing scum like DeSantis incite the dog whistle politics that will trigger the usual intolerant suspects…aka deluded folk like your good self and many bleating zombies herein. Intolerant folk who presume that a drag queen is some sort of pedo. Hint – they’re not. The real pedos are living and protected in your right wing religious environment. Clue – the churches and religious institutions from which you claim some non existent moral authority.

    Meanwhile, your creed protect the right for a child to own a gun. What messed up world you attempt to incite on others.

    You would have people’s livelihoods and businesses suffer in your “cause” for you retarded religious delusions.

    Congratulations, dude, you just joined the cause of the dictator.

    The delicious irony is that whilst inciting your hatred and intolerance, numbness like DeSantoids is potentially causing businesses great harm – affecting the lives of everyday people who have no vested interest either way – they’re just doing their job!

    .

  14. Has Ron DeSantis figured out what causes society more problems: legal depictions of sexuality approved by adults for their own consumption or that of their family; or actual violence running amok in Florida alongside all the depictions of violence consumed by children and adults in Florida?

    Shouldn’t he fear guns and violence more than he fears drag queens? According to Trump, during DeSantis’ days as teacher, DeSantis had a thing for hanging out with his drunk underage student. Sort of interesting that the big fan of illegal alcohol consumption by children during his teaching days would now be attacking a business’s ability to continue to provide for legal alcohol consumption by adults.

  15. David,

    Don’t you believe that parents should have a right to manage their own children’s exposure to even potentially difficult subject matters? Isn’t that why home-schooling has grown as much as it has during the last 30-40 years, empower parents?

  16. “Parents can’t walk into a bar and buy an alcoholic drink for their 12 year old and hand it to them. Are we taking away parents freedom here as well Gary?”

    But parents can in the US, or at least they could in Scott Walker’s Wisconsin. IIRC, the Republican bar owners in the state wouldn’t have it any other way.

  17. So judging from many of the posts on here, the party of “limited government” is once again cheering government attacking a business that made an individual decision regarding who to serve. Y’all remember that wedding cake baker? Nah, I didn’t think so, because you’re also attacking a travel blogger over drawing attention to it. Anyway, the useful idiots of the Florida right apparently have their orders to search and replace the word “Jew” with “LGBTQ” in their copies of Mein Kampf and say it’s for the sake of the children. Those same children whose health care, school lunches, and education in general are consistently voted against. Because, it’s not really about the children, and Y’all know that.

  18. The new War on Clothing. What will DeSantis think of next to further inflame the right wing rage machine.

  19. I am sick and tired of you posting all this political crap on your once useful miles and points website. Everyday, you are losing supporters because of these stuff, you might as well call this site a “View from the LEFT wing.”

  20. Garbage hotel. No loss.

    D Weston – come and take them. You personally. We’ll wait, coward.

  21. The good ‘ol Sunshine State.
    I am looking forward to the “meltdown memes” when DeSantis is elected President.

  22. This would also be illegal in California wherever alcohol is sold, regardless of whether children were present…. Simulated or real, genitalia, female breasts, etc are prohibited where alcohol is sold.

  23. @jc and @BJ Tyler I’d like to know why why a dude in a frock wearing fake boobs requires the morality police to intervene in Florida yet…

    1. Broadcast television shows partial nudity, profanity and simulated sex ALL of the time

    2. High school and college cheerleaders perform and dance in sexually suggestive ways and wear outfits that expose portions of their breasts and buttocks –> by your definition, these kids are being sexualized for entertainment

    3. There are billboards everywhere in Florida with almost naked women advertising strip clubs air conditioning repair

    4. Broadcast radio transmits songs promoting sexual promiscuity, domestic violence and crime

    5. it is legal for a man or a woman to rollerblade down the street in a thong in plain sight of children

    This has NOTHING to do with obscenity. You can try an spin this all you want, but it is homophobia, harassment and discrimination pure and simple. It is part of a culture war that is hell-bent on pitting Floridians against one another in the name of political gain for one, power-hungry man.

    The hypocrisy of this is mind-numbing. People will twist themselves into pretzels explaining why parents should be allowed to choose how my tax dollars are used to educate children in the name of parental choice but the second a parent makes a choice they don’t like it’s time to heat the tar and pluck the chickens.

    And…spare me the “protecting our children” BS. If these people actually cared about kids they would do something about children being gunned down in schools. They would do something about children going to bed hungry. They would do something about children who are abused by priests, scout masters, athletic coaching staff and all of the other things that are actually a risk to children.

    You are entitled to think drag queens are obscene. You are NOT entitled to legislate your morality on me.

  24. @SOBE ER DOC

    Nothing but facts.

    It has nothing to do with children and everything to do with one man’s attempt to get to the White House.

  25. If what is shown in the video in the tweet is considered “sexually explicit” than I have about 200 lawsuits ready to go against the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet for showing my children shocking images of animal births without my express written consent.

  26. ANYONE who is fine with a sexually-oriented show with CHILDREN involved is a demented groomer pervert.

    THIS IS NOT OK! This is SICK!

  27. 1) Whatever happened to conservatives demanding “parental control” and not government control?
    2) Why are parents being investigated by Florida DCF for child endangerment since they exposed them to this activity, not to mention being exposed to alcohol?
    Cross dressing and suggestive acts have been in plays for centuries. Check out several of Shakespeare’s plays.
    3) Cross dressing and suggestive acts have been in movies and television shows since at least the 50’s with notable actors such as Tom Hanks, Jack Lemmon, Robin Williams, Tony Curtis & John Travolta, to name a few.

  28. Interesting that with the limited information Gary provides some people weigh in as if the sky were falling.
    Gov. DeSantis may be off base here, but we weren’t told (1) the average age of the children (2) whether any of the parents complained to the hotel or the authorities.
    I didn’t get a clear understanding of what the relevant law(s) provide, but I don’t plan to reread the article to find out what we’ve been told.
    Readers’ comments used to be interesting and informed. Now Gary’s posts attract hair-trigger reactions that aren’t all that interesting or informed.
    Pity. Perhaps Gary will return to covering matters dealing with travel, air travel in particular.

  29. That show sounds wholesome and I would think child attendance should be encouraged. I also think the kids should be served liquor. Isn’t the old adage that an 18 year old can die for their country but they can’t buy a beer? Kids have to dodge bullets at school in honor of their right-wing government. They should be able to drink. AA should give out prosthetic genitals to Exec P’s.

  30. what is wrong with most of you?? This show is disgusting and parents bringing their little children to this extreme left sided show need to be fined or arrested for CHILD ABUSE. It is these parents who will wonder what is wrong with their children later on in life!@!!!! I am amazed at how much the left hate our Governor and do not know anything about hi\m..just what the liberal hate press puts out there……………………………………

  31. @ dee

    “what is wrong with most of you??”

    Evidently some readers herein are far more realistic and less prejudiced in their world view. You don’t like it because you are all hung up about sex.

    “This show is disgusting”

    No it’s not. That’s only your warped perception of reality doing the talking. For many people sex is not disgusting, rather a natural part of their lives and can be unfettered from the indoctrination of religious brainwashing (itself a form of psychological child abuse) and the guilt that such engenders (itself an output from such psychological child abuse).

    Many people simply don’t have an issue with how others choose to dress. You are all hung up about dress code stereotypes. Better ban Harry Styles and all Scottish traditional kilts whilst you’re at it and don’t watch any historical period TV or period pieces which depict differing dress customers of their times. No trousers for women and no wigs for men.

    ” to this extreme left sided show”

    Strangely enough humans of all political persuasions evidently manage to integrate sex into their lives regardless of your chosen labels of left or right.

    It only appears left sided to you because the right wing politicians seek to incite your hatred and intolerance of others.

    “need to be fined or arrested for CHILD ABUSE.”:

    You have a very strange concept of what constitutes child abuse. Every single person that I know who has attended a religious school run by nuns has reported being psychologically abused (derided, bullied, shamed) to me. I also know people who have been sexually abused by priests and have multiple suicide attempts as adults, but nobody was listening to them because they refused to accept that a person working for a church would do such a thing – we now know thanks to investigations in a number of countries that child abuse under the guise of religion was/ is rife.

    In my own country (Australia) it was the right wing politicians who tried to stop those investigations (a full Royal Commission) from going ahead because the right wing aligns with religion in a traditional power block – they don’t give a shite about child.abuse. It was the right leaning media (News Corp) that ran lengthy editorials against the investigations. The same voices refused to support the trials of known child abusers and pedophile supporters such as the late Cardinal George Pell (a man who gave testimony claiming that there was nothing unusual about a priest ripping the heads off live animals in front of a classroom fully of kids).

    Vile and nasty and disgusting stuff, Dee. Whilst your bleating about drag shows kids are being kiddy fiddled by the very people you support. You are an utter hypocrite and very remiss in failing to recognise where the real issues lie.

    Child abuse is indoctrinating your kids brains with fake gods and fake anti science nonsense like creationism. Child abuse is teaching your kids that sex is unnatural. Child abuse is filling your kids heads with all of that fake guilt. Child abuse is brainwashing your kids to be intolerant of people who are different. Shame on you, Dee.

    I’ve read some religious brochures from one religion that claim that anybody non white is devolved from the original white folk created by their god and became dark or black because of their sin. How dare they teach such abhorrent trash to kids. That is child abuse, Dee.

    “It is these parents who will wonder what is wrong with their children later on in life!@!!!!”

    Probably not, actually, that’s your utter presumption. I never came across anybody who said , “oh dear I’m all messed up because I went to a drag show as a teen”. On the other hand, most adult women I meet are clearly trapped into the psychological game of trying to present a perfect appearance for fear of non acceptance, social failure and lack of social status. So, Dee, what about that indoctrination of the beauty myth with sexualised images of women constantly forced into kids’ heads from TV shows and magazines and movies, surely that is a form of child abuse.

    Surely the creation of those everyday images of magazines you would undoubtedly have lying around your very house is a sexualisation that kids cannot avoid in society – many of those images also depict models who were under age and sexualised in creation of those images of the beauty myth.

    So, if you have ever bought a women’s magazine you have mixed that “abuse” of the model and joined the brainwashing milieu. The odious example of such are beauty competitions held for small kids.

    “I am amazed at how much the left hate our Governor and do not know anything about hi\m..just what the liberal hate press puts out there”

    You fail to appreciate the insanity of seeking political advantage whilst punishing everyday people (the employees) of the business that you are so eager to destroy in your fake crusade.

    Ironically, you probably have virtually no information on which to base your judgment! You don’t know if there were actually kids present – how many, how old, whether they are mature in attitude and outlook. In your warped min that rooms filled with what you call “little children” because you seek confirmation of your own hang ups and prejudices. Clue – it probably wasn’t at all.

    You undoubtedly have no actual evidence that a drag show can corrupt the mind of child. Again, just your personal world view at work. The real issue is that a drag show offends your religious god delusion and that’s enough to damn everyone to hell, including the employees who work at the function centre and hotel. Bring back the f—ing inquisition!

    You may not have realised that the video clip presented above was not from the vent itself. No, you are just stupidly triggered without actually stopping to think. And that is one of the reasons the right wing garners my utter contempt. Such politicians are manipulating people who are unable to think for yourself. That makes such politicians worthy of any reasonably person’s disrespect. Do you want your politics to be about policy or fake culture wars? Your governor is trash to engage in such and no better that the clown who would be a dicta piece of garbage from office.

    Now, pick up that magazine and enjoy the photos of under age kids in make up and fine frocks.

  32. This is just Emperor DeWokeSantes yielding his control of all things in Florida. He has really gone over the cliff with his self-righteousness. He is another Putin in the making!

  33. @ Francis

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    Their specialities, of course, dresses and other mistakenly feminine garments for men needing to dress the part.

    Thankfully now available through their ecommerce website, you can pick up a roman chusable with machine embroidery for a meagre USD3,150.

    The good shepherd chalice is a bargain at USD4,545 and with an understated crosier priced at a compelling USD1677, all designed to match a silk dalmatic, episcopal vimpa, and modest pallium with bright buskins and gloves.

    Of course the full stage costume needs to be individually priced based on cut (gothic or roman) and the finery of the fabric.

    Don’t forget to order your artisan chains and little ropes called cinctures with your gothic stoles in a savoy brocade.

    The bling would not be complete without a chest-piece crafted from precious metals and radiant gemstones, such as the pectoral cross in gilded silver with lapis lazuli for a paltry USD1500.

    I was in Rome in November and was delighted to peruse the excellent shopfront in the Via Santa Chiara, just a block away from the Pantheon itself….;)

  34. It’s just so predictable to see the usual crew indulging in Trump nostalgia – he used to be the Worst Thing Ever – BUT Have You Seen This DeSantis Fellow?!?!?

    For some reason, you need to create imaginary monsters to justify your own poor choices. No one LIKES Biden, he’s just not the other guy. Or Kamala. Therefore, if we make the other side a repulsive monster, we don’t feel so bad about voting for the guy who has no brain left. At least he’s not THAT GUY (Insert Monster Of The Moment). So predictable. So manipulable. Like putty in the hands of a master craftsman. You really do believe 2+2=5 even when you know it’s a lie.

  35. @ SOBER ER DOC
    By your standards, then you would be in support of straight men taking their boys to strip clubs? Because as far as I know, that father would be taken to jail and charged with sexual exploitation of a child and child abuse. Explain to me the logic where drag shows are different? They are adult venues with sexually explicit material where alcohol is served. The same argument for or against can be made for both. Let’s at least be fair here.

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