A council has called off library storytime events set to be hosted by a pantomime dame over protest fears.
Mama G, who previously appeared on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, has been storytelling in libraries in Suffolk for seven years.
However, Suffolk Community Libraries, run by Suffolk County Council, has now postponed the events in fear of “protests and disruption”.
The pantomime dame, who has a book titled “Oh Yes I Am!”, described it as an “attack”.
“Personally, I find it really sad because it’s an attack on what I love,” Mama G told The Independent.
“All you’re doing is cancelling a pantomime. The reason they’re worried is that the message is one of positivity and inclusivity.”
Mama G claims to have been told by the council last week to assume the library sessions were cancelled and to “look for further work”.
Suffolk Community Libraries however, said they were only “postponed”, saying it was an “operational decision” to ensure the safety of staff and the wider community.
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Krystal Vittles, Head of Library Service for Suffolk Community Libraries, said: “Due to extreme negative reactions to similar events in other areas, including protests and disruption, we have postponed these events and are currently carrying out an additional risk assessment.
“This is an operational decision as a precaution to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff, residents, and local communities.”
Suffolk Councillor Sam Murray, who represents Whitehouse and Whitton, posted to social media to say it was a “responsible move” by the library service.
“A welcome decision by Suffolk Community Libraries. I want to commend Suffolk Community Libraries for their decision to postpone the planned performances by Mama G, Councillor Murray said.
“It is a responsible move that reflects the growing concerns shared by many parents and residents across the country. I sincerely hope this postponement leads to a complete cancellation of the events in our libraries.
“Over the past few years, I have made several enquiries into the appropriateness of hosting an act like Mama G in our publicly funded libraries.
“While billed as a ‘pantomime dame’, it is important to separate traditional pantomime from what is, in this case, clearly a drag performance with adult themes that lacks any genuine pantomime context.”
Councillor Murray went on to say that Mama G “should not rely on taxpayer-funded venues to reach children”.
Facebook/Mama G
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Mama G claims the council said to ‘look for further work’
“He is free, like any performer, to hire a private hall and charge admission,” she added.
In a post to social media on Wednesday evening, Mama G described frustration at hearing “the same old arguments”.
The pantomime dame said: “It’s so frustrating to keep having to make these points again and again (and hear the same old arguments thrown back at me).
“But I intend to keep going until EVERYONE (even the councillor) understands that we all have the right to be who we want and love who we are, and that no one is too young to hear a message that could change their life for the better.”