Some drag queens saw fewer gigs, shows amid muted corporate participation during Pride Month

It’s been an “unusual” summer for Sasha Jones.

Jones, 40, who goes by her drag persona Sasha Love Queen, saw half the number of job offers last month when compared to previous summers. A cast member at bars like Roscoe’s Tavern and Sidetrack Bar, and a host at Lips Chicago, she was booked for fewer corporate gigs and saw more events like bingo nights rather than drag shows.

In past years, “I would start getting emails and messages in April … and by the time May comes, I’d have a full schedule for June,” Jones told the Sun-Times.

Jones was not the only drag queen to report getting fewer job offers as companies and brands opted to hold quieter Pride Month celebrations here and nationally.

A survey by Gravity Research found that that 39% of Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies planned to reduce Pride-related engagement in 2025. More than 60% of those surveyed cited the Trump administration’s policies toward LGBTQ+ issues as “the top reason for rethinking Pride strategies.”

Corporate sponsorships in New York and San Francisco for citywide Pride celebrations dropped, as partners scaled back or allocated funds elsewhere, according to news accounts.

That was not the case here. Overall, organizers of PRIDEChicago said in a statement that they have “experienced and appreciate an uptick in community donations.” The group highlighted that its sponsorship model is unique and does not require multiyear commitments from sponsors.

“Because of this, any year-to-year fluctuations in sponsorship participation are natural and not reflective of larger national patterns,” the citywide Pride Parade organizer told the Sun-Times.

The Chicago Pride Fest, a two-day street festival that preceded the parade, also had over 30 sponsors and was well attended.

Many LGBTQ+-focused businesses in Chicago also said they didn’t see huge revenue losses this year.

“We’re luckily protected from a lot of the negativity that I think they feel in other areas — small towns, different states, different cities throughout the United States,” said Roscoe’s Tavern marketing and special events manager Shawn Hazen, who described Chicago as a “bubble.”

Still, to individual performers who did see a drop in gigs, the loss in business and the climate nationally have been concerning.

“It’s very disheartening,” said Malcolm Elbert, 24, a drag artist who performs as Allura The Doll.

“It makes me think about the fact that throughout history, there are a lot of times where it will feel like everything, especially in America, is getting really, really progressive and moving forward and then we will randomly take two to three steps back. And it keeps happening,” Elbert said.

Elbert, who has been a drag artist for four years and recently won the 2025 title for Roscoe’s Chicago Entertainer of the Year, lost three gigs that she had in years past.

That’s “equivalent to $2,000 for me,” Elbert told the Sun-Times.

In one case when she followed up with a client, Elbert learned that the contact person at the client’s company had been laid off and the company had decided to scale back its Pride celebrations. She declined to name the clients.

Christopher King, 33, who performs as Kimberly Summer, has had fewer job offers this year.

“I would say in past years I’m used to having about 10 to 12 larger corporations and groups reach out. And it seems like this year even a lot of people that were their contacts and would reach out to our communities no longer even work for those companies,” said King, who declined to name the businesses.

King noted that this is unfortunate as it sends a message, not only to the LGBTQ+ community but also to the staff members who would have attended the performances.

“It’s important for them to feel safe and valued within their companies that they’re working for,” King added, referring to staff at client companies. “And a lot of these people who are queer and questioning might never have had contact with [those] communities or any part of the culture that is connected to the rich history of those communities.”

One positive trend to King is that most of the opportunities this year seem to be queer-led and queer-organized, as opposed to coming from budgets for diversity within companies.

“A benefit of this is that it does feel like it’s maybe bringing the community a little closer together,” King said.