Celebrity drag queen Miss Shangay Lily
on Thursday confronted Mariano Rajoy, the president of Spain's
Partido Popular, over recent comments he made on gay marriage, the
Spanish news agency EFE reported.
At a book event, the famous drag queen
rose from her seat and burst out in protest.
“Mr. Rajoy, on behalf of the gay
community, I ask you to reconsider your statements. Enough of
homophobia in the PP! Stop the lying and the manipulation,” she
shouted holding a sign that read “PP = homophobia.”
Shangay Lily was referring to
statements Rajoy, who is vying to become the nation's next prime
minister in a contest to be held in early 2012, made in an interview
Sunday with daily El Pais.
The conservative leader told the paper
that he does not like the gay marriage law approved by Spain's
socialist government in 2005. His party filed a constitutional
challenge to the law at its approval.
“I will listen very carefully to the
arguments of the Constitutional Court and the people, but I do not
like the homosexual marriage act, and I do not think it is
constitutional,” he said. “My disagreement is about the use of
the word marriage.”
Shangay Lily was escorted from her seat
by security and the event continued.
Tony Poveda, president of Spain's
largest gay rights advocate, the Federacion Estatal de Lesbianas,
Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales (FELGTB), called Rajoy's words
“outrageous.”
“His words are a clear example of the
power in Spain of the Catholic Church, Opus Dei, and PP's homophobia.
Homophobia disguised as liberal conservatism,” he said.
A 2008 study found that a majority
(66%) of Spaniards approve of the law. In its first three years,
over 12,000 gay and lesbian marriages were celebrated.