Attack on Philippine drag artist Taylor Sheesh sparks outrage and renewed calls for LGBTQ equality bill

Sheesh, real name Mac Coronel, confirmed in a social media post that she was attacked at a local town concert in Bayambang, a town in Pangasinan province around 200km away from Manila.

“This is traumatic. Literally. I’m shaking right now,” the artist posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, the day after the incident.

Screenshots of a male audience member sticking out his hand to hit the drag queen in the neck in the middle of her performance on April 6 went viral on social media, sparking outrage among the Taylor Swift impersonator’s many fans and supporters.

Bayambang Mayor Niña Jose-Quiambao condemned the act on her social media page.

“I will not tolerate homophobia and physical abuse in my town. I will make sure that justice will be dealt [sic]. I am sorry to Taylor Sheesh that someone assaulted her during her performance,” Quiambao wrote. She also reassured the public that the perpetrator was under the custody of local authorities.

The drag artist later posted an update stating that the man was charged with unjust vexation, a minor offence punishable by jail time between one and 30 days and a fine of 5 to 200 Philippine pesos.

“I will not tolerate violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. We need a SOGIE [Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Equality] Bill or a law to protect us from any kind of homophobic or transphobic activity. Hope we get the justice we deserve,” Coronel wrote in a social media post.

The Philippines’ SOGIE Equality Bill, which seeks to criminalise discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual characteristics (SOGIESC), was first filed in Congress 20 years ago, but little progress has been made towards its passage since.

Senate Majority Leader