Kids Help Phone has been a go-to mental health service for Canadian children since the 1980s and recently received a $3 million boost from the federal government. It has released an ad featuring two drag queens who also star in “The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy” aired on Family Jr.
Jean Paul Kane (Fay) is an educator at the Toronto District School Board, according to the duo’s website. Kaleb Robertson (Fluffy) is a DJ, event host, and childcare provider. He used to run a home daycare and worked as a “manny,” their website says.
The pair star in the Kids Help Phone ad wearing big pink wigs and matching green dresses, along with beards, tattoos, body hair, and showy makeup.
“What do you do when you have lots of feelings?” Fluffy asks. “Sometimes I hold my favourite stuffy,” says Fay, hugging a teddy bear.
Protests Around Drag Events for Kids
Protests and counterprotests have sprung up across the country in recent months around drag queen performances for children. Some critics have said government-funded organizations in particular should not hold such events.For example, the government-funded Carousel Theatre for Young People in Vancouver will host a drag queen camp for kids aged 7 and up this summer.
“Camps indoctrinating kids as young as 7 with gender ideology and sexual confusion are now being promoted and subsidized by all government levels,” said Maxime Bernier, Peoples’ Party of Canada leader, in a March 31 tweet.
“The Department of Canadian Heritage is committed to advancing inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility,“ the department said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times on April 11. ”We support inclusive and equitable artistic and cultural experiences for all ages and backgrounds, such as those offered by the Carousel Theatre for Young People.”
The statement continued, “The Government of Canada values 2SLGBTQI+ rights as human rights and upholds the values of diversity and inclusion as key to building a better and more prosperous Canada for everyone.”
Fay and Fluffy’s Show
Fay and Fluffy’s television show is aimed at preschoolers and has been nominated for Best Program, Live Action Non-Scripted by the Youth Media Alliance. Winners will be announced at a ceremony at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto on May 31.It was nominated Best Pre-school Program or Series, along with nominations in three other categories, in the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards hosted by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television in April.
The duo started out hosting drag queen storytime events in Toronto in 2016. Robertson (Fluffy) is an activist who has called for people to “protect trans-kids.”
Kids Help Phone has created materials in recent years related to the growing issue of gender dysphoria among youth.
Its website walks children through transitioning, including a suggestion that they consider medical treatments before puberty. “Thinking about gender-affirming medical care before starting puberty can be an option for some people—it can be a way to get ahead of the changes that may happen to your body before it matures.”
