The cast and writer of drag-tastic Broadway hit “Kinky Boots” fought back in style after being slammed by some detractors over a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade routine.
Furious Facebook posts and tweets flew on Thanksgiving Day when Tony winner Billy Porter and the cast of the show — about a drag queen who saves a shoe business with fun fetish footwear — were in the parade’s lineup alongside more kid-friendly fare like Snoopy, Spider-Man and SpongeBob SquarePants.
“Macy’s worst decision ever . . . you’ve completely removed the family part of Thanksgiving. Absolutely disgusting,” wrote a commenter on the department store’s Facebook page. “Not a conversation I wanted to have with my five-year-old on Thanksgiving morning. NOT COOL!” said another. But others countered, “Diversity is the best family value,” and “loved the parade and the message of inclusivity.”
Amid all the holiday controversy, Porter brazenly marched over to Macy’s on Black Friday in full drag to do some shopping, along with castmate Stark Sands, in heels, and the musical’s co-creator Harvey Fierstein.
“You have to start a dialogue,” Fierstein told Page Six of the parade backlash as he headed to Macy’s men’s department with the outrageously dressed actors. “And you can’t have a dialogue unless someone says something first. It takes actual work to open up [people’s] minds.” The gravel-voiced theater veteran observed while riding the escalator, “Some of the looks we’re getting are pretty funny. I’m with a man in drag and one in heels!”
Said a spy, “Billy and Stark came off the stage in their ‘Kinky Boots’ finale outfits, got in a car and headed right over to Macy’s for Black Friday. They shopped until they dropped. Many of Macy’s customers and staff loved it. It was a true miracle on 34th Street.”
The actors then headed back to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where Cameron Diaz had been spotted at Friday’s matinee, for an evening performance.
A spy said the actors bought a jacket, sweaters and Jo Malone candles. A Macy’s rep said, “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has always spotlighted the best of Broadway since the ’60’s, and this year is no exception. As 2013’s Tony award-winning best musical, ‘Kinky Boots’ is not only a hit with Broadway fans, but Black Friday shoppers… Please have them call us and we’ll set them up with our personal shoppers.”