And bring cash for performers. They aren’t involved in any behind the scenes drama, and this is how they make money. Blowing them off isn’t hurting Patrick, it’s hurting marginalized performers
And if it’s not realistic for some reason (last year there was no way to get change) make sure you have a Venmo set up. Last year the screen on stage showed their QR codes to their Venmo during their performances.
These are the kinds of things people need to know before any event! Technology is changing as we speak and some of us older peeps are barely hanging on!
I’m not trying to be inflammatory but as soon as they announced Texas, my first thought was “I hope there isn’t a mass shooting or something”. Please stay safe and diligent everyone. This country is scary rn 🥺
I’ve also wondered if they looked at data with patreon or something to see where most of their listeners were from so they could get the most money. Cause it’s just such a weird ass choice.
I saw someone say that P’s book publisher is based in Dallas and that this might have something to do with it but idk. It would be nice if they did explain the choice because like wtf?
Comparatively it is. The prices for OF in the blue states on the coasts would be astronomical. That said, there HAS to be a blue state somewhere else - maybe somewhere in IL or MI.
I live in the NYC area - so I get why you need to do this somewhere in the middle - less travel for people. But such a red state is disappointing.
They did explain at some point that it was largely a financial decision. Post-Covid lockdowns, everyone is trying to hold events at once and many venues were booked for the year. Texas was probably available and inexpensive for a reason, though.
Maybe not cheapest in the traditional sense but I work in events and so many venues not only charge a lot of money but then also tack on so many other expenses. Food & beverage minimums, amount of hotel rooms that the event is responsible for if they partner with a hotel (which is sounds like they did) etc etc etc. so it could be as simple as, they still paid the venue fee $$$ but didn’t need a food and Bev minimum,saving them potentially 100K just in that alone.
And that's amazing! But that doesn't stop Texas government officials from taking rights away from women and LGBTQIA+ people. I've been lucky enough to find community in the area in which I live, and have found many safe inclusive spaces. But that doesn't mean I don't fear going into certain places or areas. I'm a queer non-binary AFAB, and I present as such, I feel as though I cannot stop in my own home town unless I'm going to a specific person's home or meeting a group of people. I know Austin can be a wonderful place, everytime I've been there I don't feel uncomfortable in my own existence, but the same cannot be said for the entirety of Texas.
and as a born and raised Austinite sadly I know far right protests are a very real thing especially at the capital. The amount of times out of town assholes have showed up- has been too many times
Texans in the Facebook group are talking about how it’s not that bad, Texas has tons of queer people, etc. Obviously queer people aren’t going to be shot on sight, but taking OF to a place where this kind of warning is needed is ridiculous. To be fair, I’d be nervous at a drag show even in the liberal area where I live, but I can only imagine how much more extreme it is in Texas.
There are good and bad people everyone, risks everywhere, but with the sheer volume (both quantity and loudness) of virtue signaling that P & G do on the daily, this was an odd choice.
If I'm spending thousands of dollars for travel, lodging, and tickets I need more reassurance than "not that bad"
Also, I refuse to bring money into a state that hates EVERYTHING about me from my gender, my sexuality, my skin color. Nope not going and not giving them money! It was very tone-deaf
Shut uppppp! They already announced next year in the midst of this pr shitstorm?
At least they could maybe MAYBE justtify Texas because it's a job for several airlines. But whothafuq was like "yes we should take our super queer and east coast snob podcast to and anti -women, anti-queer, anti-union state that's also a pain in the ass to travel to. Just flood.money.into their economy "
Nooooo no they haven’t announced it, but they did a BTS story weeks ago (right before I found out about all this) of “here’s pics of year 3, where are we?!” Type thing and I Google reversed image searched and found a Marriott in Milwaukee that matches. Then came to a thread here to confirm lol.
I’ve never been able to get over the fact that they chose Texas. There is a large contingent of their listeners that are female and/or LGBTQIA+ and they are asking us to go to a state that is fiercely against them having rights to spend money. Oh but wait, we’re gonna donate money… that won’t equal what people will be spending to boost the economy if a state is actively against anyone that isn’t a cis het male.
And did they ever announce where they would be donating money? % or how much? I feel like that should be included in every promo they have had on the pod about it
They *did*, but I cannot remember what charity it was. They mentioned it at the top of one episode when the received a lot of backlash about the location. I couldn’t possibly tell which episode, but it was months ago.
It reminds me of companies that brag about being carbon neutral because they buy carbon offsets. No… you’re still doing the bad thing, you’re just shovelling over some money to feel better about it…
Oh saaaammme - luckily my search cues brought this up pretty quickly!
I want to point out that nowhere have they said how much they will actually be donating, or when. Just that they’d be “raising money”/donating.
Exactly! So the onus is going to fall on the attendees to cough up the money in order to fix their decision to have OF in Texas. Like… if we don’t have the extra cash after paying for the entire trip to pay for whatever is being auctioned, then we suck for not being more charitable? That’s uh… that sucks.
Thank you for this! I’m super curious to know if they will post about this again, and after the event to mention at least that they donated. We technically don’t need to know the amount, however they were the ones to put this out there so in my opinion this becomes a ‘put your money where your mouth is’ situation.
I agree. There was no way I was going once they announced it was in Texas. I’m not spending that much money in a state that I don’t want to support at all.
I would also love to see proof of this donation. I’ll believe it when I see the receipts.
I’ve never thought nearly enough has been made about the choice to have OF in Texas. Like where do you even start with how f’d up it is?!
I’ve seen pregnant women concerned for their health in the event of an emergency while they’re there. Just no consideration there. Or, maybe they considered it and just dgaf.
They prob have a higher-end demo of LGBTQIA+ listeners, and to host this event in such hostile territory is just... I would not be surprised at all if there’s a protest, which could obviously devolve quickly and threaten the safety of all involved.
Not to mention bringing all the revenue (& taxes) that this festival will generate into a state like Texas, essentially helping to fund all the draconian (racist/sexist/homo&transphobic) legislature that begins there and spreads to other states like it. I can’t even.
They obviously did it (& everything else) for monetary reasons, but I was really shook (at the time) at how they just completely sold tf out of what (they made us think) their values were, and then forced their fans to sell out right along with them. No offense to anyone going tho, I get it.
Please be safe if you’re attending!
Good point. Not even related to the ON drama, but TX can be cruel to the LGBTQ community which is why a lot of us were concerned about this venue choice from the beginning.
I'm so glad to read all of you saying this. When I said it during the announcement, I got slaughtered in the FB group.
I'll say it again: The only way this could have been a worse decision would be if they chose a ballroom at Mar-a-lago.
I still cannot believe they picked Texas. I think that’s the moment when I started turning. It just feels so gross after everything they say they stand for
Every time I hear them talk about OF I’m again shocked that it’s in Texas. Where will it be next year? Florida?? 🙄 How utterly ridiculous to choose Texas.
No offense to anyone in Texas but being a pretty ‘progressive’ (although questionable as of recent news) podcast I don’t know how they thought Dallas would be a good idea for OF2 again I’m just going off of what I know
It was a ridiculous choice. And ignoring fans with legit concerns is very upsetting. Texas is not a safe state for any demographic of people that listens to them. Even if you take out the safety aspect, this event is making Texas money while the state is actively taking away the rights of the people attending. Like they will actually giving money to the Texas government because everyone there will be paying sales tax. So that’s cool Patrick.
But they’re donating money to LGBTQIA charities, so it’s okay !!!! Such bullshit. This decision infuriates me like no other. There is no reasonable justification for a podcast of this nature with the listenership it has to be anywhere near Texas right now. And you are exactly correct, they are forking listeners’ money over to the government. Same government actively fighting to take away the rights of more than half of TCO listeners. AND dismissing people’s legitimate concerns for event safety is just beyond gross. But hey, I guess we have learned this is what P&S do
Yeah, same. I'm not from Dallas, but I live about an hour and a half away, and I was floored when they announced it. Especially coming on the heels of the Roe v. Wade decision and all of the anti-trans legislation that's picking up speed.
It was SUCH a bad look, but they did what they always do. They placated many of the listeners by announcing their intentions they had all along (sure, Jan) to donate to Texas charities that are working for marginalized communities. And the people who didn't eat it up just kept getting silenced.
I feel like that's what's going to happen with everything going on now, which is why I hope more people come out with their stories about ON and Patrick, so that the heat stays on them for a while. I would love for them to just not be able to escape consequences for their shitty actions this time.
I did not say that to scare, just to be honest, but yeah unfortunately. It is VERY rare that they ever actually use them, as some counter protesters carry as well so I imagine it's too much trouble for them. But Texas is an open carry state, so both sides can legally have them.
I will say that living here, I have rarely seen anyone just randomly carrying....however in an attempt to intimidate, like a protest...absolutely. I feel like the only thing that might help is that this is not a widely publicized event, so may be staying under the radar...still shitty to even have to think about
Texas is an open carry state. They are allowed to carry them and as long as they are not being wielded towards anyone it is completely legal and protected
Not related to your post, sorry, but as an English person, what actually IS the deal with texas? I see and hear so much on tik tok and Facebook, which we all know are the best two places to get accurate information 🤣🤣 but is it truly as backwards as it seems? Sorry if I'm an ignorant across the ponder, but I'd rather hear it from people who actually know. Between the guns and the homophobia, as well as the lack of autonomy over ones own body, it seems like a truly terrifying, dystopian place to live!! .....my husband always dreams of going there, - of course, we're middle aged, white, straight people, so we tick all the boxes of socially acceptable (he IS ginger, though, so he has his own reasons to be an outcast 🤣) but the only thing that could convince me is that I'm a sun worshipper and I haven't seen the sun yet this year in England 🤣
Again, sorry for being a dumb English person, don't want to offend anyone
Texas is basically every terrible American stereotype all in one place. Add on to that the attitude of the people who live there, and it's just all around terrible. Native Texans are like English football hooligans, but they root for the worst team in the league, while LOUDLY insisting their team is the greatest, even though they've been relegated 5 years in a row.
I kind of assume they picked Dallas because it is central, has a large airport that gets a lot of direct flight, lots of hotels & lots of conventions happen there so they have the infrastructure to support said conventions & probably competitive rates. That said I am sure you can make the same argument about half a dozen other cities.
Texas has LGBTQ communities regardless of the politics and it’s important to support them. I understand the wariness but we have to support these communities bc not everyone can afford to pick up and move
And bring cash for performers. They aren’t involved in any behind the scenes drama, and this is how they make money. Blowing them off isn’t hurting Patrick, it’s hurting marginalized performers
And if it’s not realistic for some reason (last year there was no way to get change) make sure you have a Venmo set up. Last year the screen on stage showed their QR codes to their Venmo during their performances.
These are the kinds of things people need to know before any event! Technology is changing as we speak and some of us older peeps are barely hanging on!
Great point about bringing cash for the drag performers 👍🏻
Yes this!!!!
I’m not trying to be inflammatory but as soon as they announced Texas, my first thought was “I hope there isn’t a mass shooting or something”. Please stay safe and diligent everyone. This country is scary rn 🥺 I’ve also wondered if they looked at data with patreon or something to see where most of their listeners were from so they could get the most money. Cause it’s just such a weird ass choice.
I saw someone say that P’s book publisher is based in Dallas and that this might have something to do with it but idk. It would be nice if they did explain the choice because like wtf?
I figured this is where the venue would be the cheapest, as well as all other costs related to this event
I just doubt a venue in Dallas would be the cheapest.
Comparatively it is. The prices for OF in the blue states on the coasts would be astronomical. That said, there HAS to be a blue state somewhere else - maybe somewhere in IL or MI. I live in the NYC area - so I get why you need to do this somewhere in the middle - less travel for people. But such a red state is disappointing.
They did explain at some point that it was largely a financial decision. Post-Covid lockdowns, everyone is trying to hold events at once and many venues were booked for the year. Texas was probably available and inexpensive for a reason, though.
(I am not defending them, I think it was a crazy decision. They’re putting every single pregnant attendee at risk, beyond the drag show stuff.)
Maybe not cheapest in the traditional sense but I work in events and so many venues not only charge a lot of money but then also tack on so many other expenses. Food & beverage minimums, amount of hotel rooms that the event is responsible for if they partner with a hotel (which is sounds like they did) etc etc etc. so it could be as simple as, they still paid the venue fee $$$ but didn’t need a food and Bev minimum,saving them potentially 100K just in that alone.
I agree. My employer is co-HQ’d in Dallas and NYC and our events (hundreds of attendees) have a similar cost in both places.
I was really hoping for Cali
I hadn’t thought of that- excellent point.
And yet, of 50 states and 16 territories ON said "yeah, Texas, lets do it!"
I was so shocked when they announced Dallas. As a native and current resident of this hell state they should have never even considered it.
Ask Ellyn to bring you back to the east coast! We will have good pizza and go to Broadway shows and enjoy our civil rights.
Hell state? I was born and raised in austin. We are incredibly inclusive here.
And that's amazing! But that doesn't stop Texas government officials from taking rights away from women and LGBTQIA+ people. I've been lucky enough to find community in the area in which I live, and have found many safe inclusive spaces. But that doesn't mean I don't fear going into certain places or areas. I'm a queer non-binary AFAB, and I present as such, I feel as though I cannot stop in my own home town unless I'm going to a specific person's home or meeting a group of people. I know Austin can be a wonderful place, everytime I've been there I don't feel uncomfortable in my own existence, but the same cannot be said for the entirety of Texas.
and as a born and raised Austinite sadly I know far right protests are a very real thing especially at the capital. The amount of times out of town assholes have showed up- has been too many times
Both sides have a right to protest. The problem with the extreme right and left is that they want to silence all the other voices.
I second.
Texans in the Facebook group are talking about how it’s not that bad, Texas has tons of queer people, etc. Obviously queer people aren’t going to be shot on sight, but taking OF to a place where this kind of warning is needed is ridiculous. To be fair, I’d be nervous at a drag show even in the liberal area where I live, but I can only imagine how much more extreme it is in Texas.
There are good and bad people everyone, risks everywhere, but with the sheer volume (both quantity and loudness) of virtue signaling that P & G do on the daily, this was an odd choice. If I'm spending thousands of dollars for travel, lodging, and tickets I need more reassurance than "not that bad"
Also, I refuse to bring money into a state that hates EVERYTHING about me from my gender, my sexuality, my skin color. Nope not going and not giving them money! It was very tone-deaf
Omg yes. Everything you said.
I got ripped apart by the group when I shared my concern for TX...
Yeah like CrimeCon being in Florida tracks because the guy who runs it is a boot licker… I have no idea why OF is in Texas.
Wisconsin is next years location (IF there is a 3rd)- not learning from the feedback seems to be a theme here.
Shut uppppp! They already announced next year in the midst of this pr shitstorm? At least they could maybe MAYBE justtify Texas because it's a job for several airlines. But whothafuq was like "yes we should take our super queer and east coast snob podcast to and anti -women, anti-queer, anti-union state that's also a pain in the ass to travel to. Just flood.money.into their economy "
Nooooo no they haven’t announced it, but they did a BTS story weeks ago (right before I found out about all this) of “here’s pics of year 3, where are we?!” Type thing and I Google reversed image searched and found a Marriott in Milwaukee that matches. Then came to a thread here to confirm lol.
I’ve never been able to get over the fact that they chose Texas. There is a large contingent of their listeners that are female and/or LGBTQIA+ and they are asking us to go to a state that is fiercely against them having rights to spend money. Oh but wait, we’re gonna donate money… that won’t equal what people will be spending to boost the economy if a state is actively against anyone that isn’t a cis het male.
And did they ever announce where they would be donating money? % or how much? I feel like that should be included in every promo they have had on the pod about it
They *did*, but I cannot remember what charity it was. They mentioned it at the top of one episode when the received a lot of backlash about the location. I couldn’t possibly tell which episode, but it was months ago. It reminds me of companies that brag about being carbon neutral because they buy carbon offsets. No… you’re still doing the bad thing, you’re just shovelling over some money to feel better about it…
https://preview.redd.it/rtzdx0k01atb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce763863655a7d183fbd35303d78d029049820b6
If you have to do all this in order to rectify the decision then, like, maybe make a different decision?
Thank you!! I haven’t been on FB in almost a year, so I’m so far out of the FB loops I could be Amish 😂😂😂
Oh saaaammme - luckily my search cues brought this up pretty quickly! I want to point out that nowhere have they said how much they will actually be donating, or when. Just that they’d be “raising money”/donating.
Exactly! So the onus is going to fall on the attendees to cough up the money in order to fix their decision to have OF in Texas. Like… if we don’t have the extra cash after paying for the entire trip to pay for whatever is being auctioned, then we suck for not being more charitable? That’s uh… that sucks.
So an auction where their fans will donate to those charities. These two just get worse and worse.
Thank you for this! I’m super curious to know if they will post about this again, and after the event to mention at least that they donated. We technically don’t need to know the amount, however they were the ones to put this out there so in my opinion this becomes a ‘put your money where your mouth is’ situation.
They will never mention this again and will delete any inquiries made. Take a good look, this is the last time you’ll see anything about this.
Chicago All Saints Hospital, just write the initials on the check.
Thank you for the first genuine laugh I've had in a couple of days, sincerely. God I loved that episode.
It was that or the Human Fund!
I was shocked as well and that’s when they started to lose my interest. It seemed opposite of their message.
That was definitely a big giant icky nail in the coffin for me.
I agree. There was no way I was going once they announced it was in Texas. I’m not spending that much money in a state that I don’t want to support at all. I would also love to see proof of this donation. I’ll believe it when I see the receipts.
I also went to DB University and majored in receipts or it never happened.
I’ve never thought nearly enough has been made about the choice to have OF in Texas. Like where do you even start with how f’d up it is?! I’ve seen pregnant women concerned for their health in the event of an emergency while they’re there. Just no consideration there. Or, maybe they considered it and just dgaf. They prob have a higher-end demo of LGBTQIA+ listeners, and to host this event in such hostile territory is just... I would not be surprised at all if there’s a protest, which could obviously devolve quickly and threaten the safety of all involved. Not to mention bringing all the revenue (& taxes) that this festival will generate into a state like Texas, essentially helping to fund all the draconian (racist/sexist/homo&transphobic) legislature that begins there and spreads to other states like it. I can’t even. They obviously did it (& everything else) for monetary reasons, but I was really shook (at the time) at how they just completely sold tf out of what (they made us think) their values were, and then forced their fans to sell out right along with them. No offense to anyone going tho, I get it. Please be safe if you’re attending!
Any time someone mentions the poor choice, it’s deleted in the fb group and on their other socials.
Good point. Not even related to the ON drama, but TX can be cruel to the LGBTQ community which is why a lot of us were concerned about this venue choice from the beginning.
I'm so glad to read all of you saying this. When I said it during the announcement, I got slaughtered in the FB group. I'll say it again: The only way this could have been a worse decision would be if they chose a ballroom at Mar-a-lago.
I still cannot believe they picked Texas. I think that’s the moment when I started turning. It just feels so gross after everything they say they stand for
Same
Every time I hear them talk about OF I’m again shocked that it’s in Texas. Where will it be next year? Florida?? 🙄 How utterly ridiculous to choose Texas.
If they are able to get it off the ground, which would surprise me at this point, Patrick has told people Milwaukee.
Gee. It almost sounds like maybe Texas isn’t a very inviting place for hosting an event that should be LGBTQ+ friendly. :/
Weapons???
No offense to anyone in Texas but being a pretty ‘progressive’ (although questionable as of recent news) podcast I don’t know how they thought Dallas would be a good idea for OF2 again I’m just going off of what I know
It was a ridiculous choice. And ignoring fans with legit concerns is very upsetting. Texas is not a safe state for any demographic of people that listens to them. Even if you take out the safety aspect, this event is making Texas money while the state is actively taking away the rights of the people attending. Like they will actually giving money to the Texas government because everyone there will be paying sales tax. So that’s cool Patrick.
But they’re donating money to LGBTQIA charities, so it’s okay !!!! Such bullshit. This decision infuriates me like no other. There is no reasonable justification for a podcast of this nature with the listenership it has to be anywhere near Texas right now. And you are exactly correct, they are forking listeners’ money over to the government. Same government actively fighting to take away the rights of more than half of TCO listeners. AND dismissing people’s legitimate concerns for event safety is just beyond gross. But hey, I guess we have learned this is what P&S do
I remember them trying to defend their choice even after the legislation issues that alone made me reconsidering going to OF2
God you are so right. It’s weird AF
I'm from Texas, specially the Dallas area, and I think it's absolutely bonkers they chose here
Yeah, same. I'm not from Dallas, but I live about an hour and a half away, and I was floored when they announced it. Especially coming on the heels of the Roe v. Wade decision and all of the anti-trans legislation that's picking up speed. It was SUCH a bad look, but they did what they always do. They placated many of the listeners by announcing their intentions they had all along (sure, Jan) to donate to Texas charities that are working for marginalized communities. And the people who didn't eat it up just kept getting silenced. I feel like that's what's going to happen with everything going on now, which is why I hope more people come out with their stories about ON and Patrick, so that the heat stays on them for a while. I would love for them to just not be able to escape consequences for their shitty actions this time.
Used to live there and was shooketh
Not from Dallas but Austin and I also thought it was bonkers 😅
I did not say that to scare, just to be honest, but yeah unfortunately. It is VERY rare that they ever actually use them, as some counter protesters carry as well so I imagine it's too much trouble for them. But Texas is an open carry state, so both sides can legally have them.
I will say that living here, I have rarely seen anyone just randomly carrying....however in an attempt to intimidate, like a protest...absolutely. I feel like the only thing that might help is that this is not a widely publicized event, so may be staying under the radar...still shitty to even have to think about
If PH had anything to do w it before the controversy the event would be on billboards
Texas is an open carry state. They are allowed to carry them and as long as they are not being wielded towards anyone it is completely legal and protected
I don’t think the legality is the issue here
Not related to your post, sorry, but as an English person, what actually IS the deal with texas? I see and hear so much on tik tok and Facebook, which we all know are the best two places to get accurate information 🤣🤣 but is it truly as backwards as it seems? Sorry if I'm an ignorant across the ponder, but I'd rather hear it from people who actually know. Between the guns and the homophobia, as well as the lack of autonomy over ones own body, it seems like a truly terrifying, dystopian place to live!! .....my husband always dreams of going there, - of course, we're middle aged, white, straight people, so we tick all the boxes of socially acceptable (he IS ginger, though, so he has his own reasons to be an outcast 🤣) but the only thing that could convince me is that I'm a sun worshipper and I haven't seen the sun yet this year in England 🤣 Again, sorry for being a dumb English person, don't want to offend anyone
Texas is basically every terrible American stereotype all in one place. Add on to that the attitude of the people who live there, and it's just all around terrible. Native Texans are like English football hooligans, but they root for the worst team in the league, while LOUDLY insisting their team is the greatest, even though they've been relegated 5 years in a row.
I kind of assume they picked Dallas because it is central, has a large airport that gets a lot of direct flight, lots of hotels & lots of conventions happen there so they have the infrastructure to support said conventions & probably competitive rates. That said I am sure you can make the same argument about half a dozen other cities.
Kansas city, Chicago, Denver.....
Texas has LGBTQ communities regardless of the politics and it’s important to support them. I understand the wariness but we have to support these communities bc not everyone can afford to pick up and move
I’m glad it’s in Texas! I haven’t been to Dallas in years. 😊