Choke Hole, a drag wrestling show, apologized on Friday for a controversial ICE-themed portion of a performance staged at Pioneer Works, a Brooklyn art center.
“We created a traumatic environment for many of our audience members and are deeply sorry for this,” Choke Hole wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “Our attempt to engage with this very real violence through satire was offensive and inconsiderate and we missed the mark completely.”
The event, titled ARMAGEDDON, was held earlier this week in tandem with a show by artist Raúl de Nieves. According to Artnet News, a character named Visqueen, a sex robot, emceed the event and at one point announced that an ICE agent was present and that the agent was there to get rid of Gorlëënyah, an alien queen with whom the agent had a sexual encounter. A wrestler named Candy Pain fought the fictional agent and won out.
But the performance enraged some spectators, including the trans activist Chiquitita, who entered the ring and addressed the audience. “Our fucking people are being snatched the fuck up,” Chiquitita said. “We don’t make light of that shit.”
An Instagram post of Chiquitita’s speech has gained more 3,900 likes. “ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ty for being real,” commented Kimberly Drew, a multihyphenate popular in the art world.
Without referring to Chiquitita by name, Choke Hole acknowledged that some had taken issue with the performance.
“Members of our cast expressed discomfort with the match during the show’s rehearsal, and we producers failed to take action,” Choke Hole wrote. “It was irresponsible for us to engage with such a serious and horrible reality without more care and consideration.”
Choke Hole said it had donated more than $3,000 to NYC ICE Watch and urged its followers to contribute money as well.
Some applauded Choke Hole’s work, including the artist Swoon. “No one is perfect and great art will always have moments where it misses the mark, that’s part of the process too,” she commented on the apology. “Your community believes in you and supports you.”
