In late March and early April 2019 an Instagram screenshot circulated on Facebook, asserting a “new Netflix show” aimed to transform boys into “sexy little girls.”
The earlier iteration circulating in March appeared to have been removed or deleted (archived here), but a subsequent post (linked and archived above) was intact as of April 4 2019:
A comment appeared above an Instagram post, reading:
Netflix calls this Shit; Entertainment!
New Netflix show . to make little boys into “sexy” little girls!
The original Instagram post appeared below it, with a photograph of several children and its own caption. That post did not claim that the screenshot showed children in drag and solely stated that the image was — according to the poster — morally bankrupt:
seansmail_77 When Netflix hires Susan Rice and Obama to produce New shows this is the filth and immoral shit you get. How is this acceptable America? What has become of us?
In the post, an image of an adult in drag-like attire is surrounded by children. In the original Instagram post, the poster made reference to separate deals Netflix made in 2018 with Susan Rice and the Obamas. Neither agreement had anything to do with a dance or drag program.
An IMDb page for the show Dancing Queen on Netflix featured a video with the same shot as a still for the program’s trailer. YouTube also hosted the trailer for Dancing Queen, uploaded on September 28 2018:
A description box for the trailer said:
Welcome to the Haus of Edwards where getting first place is all about standing out. Get to know Alyssa Edwards and her dance team when Dancing Queen sashays onto Netflix October 5 [2018].
Variety reviewed the series on September 28 2018, explaining the premise of the show:
“Dancing Queen” follows Alyssa Edwards, née Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, a drag queen known for two seasons’ worth of appearances on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” In addition to drag success, Johnson, when presenting as himself, runs a dance studio in Mesquite, Texas, where he trains youngsters to work in unison toward aesthetic perfection. It’s a goal that shares, in both its careful attention to detail and its necessary backstage camaraderie, a lot with drag itself.
Additional reviews reiterate the basis of Dancing Queen:
Dancing Queen is a hilarious and heartfelt docu-series set in the dancing, prancing, world of the multi-talented, multi-layered Justin Johnson — aka Drag Superstar Alyssa Edwards – as he juggles his dance life, drag life, family life, and love life. Filmed in Justin’s hometown of Mesquite, Texas, Dancing Queen goes behind the makeup and into the drag performer’s highly competitive beyond Belief Dance Company as he prepares a young class for an intensely competitive season.
Not only was Dancing Queen not new in March 2019, it was released half a year earlier on Netflix. Further, its premise had nothing to do with “making little boys into ‘sexy’ little girls.” The program followed drag star Justin Johnson in his roles both as a performer and his life as a competitive dance instructor.
- Dancing Queen
- Dancing Queen trailer
- Dancing Queen | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix
- TV Review: Netflix’s ‘Dancing Queen’
- Drag Superstar Alyssa Edwards to Star in Docu-Series DANCING QUEEN on Netflix
- Netflix Names Former Obama Adviser and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to Board
- Netflix Forming Storytelling Partnership With Barack and Michelle Obama