Seen and Unseen: Drag queens in the Navy
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The U.S. Navy has revealed that it approached a "drag queen influencer" to help persuade new recruits to join the military.
Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, who goes by the stage name "Harpy Daniels," announced back in November 2022 that he was the Navy’s "Digital Ambassador." Kelley has over 1,300,000 likes on TikTok.
While Kelley’s Instagram bio shows that the performer’s opinions "are not endorsed by DoD or DoN," the drag queen claims to have danced in drag for service officers on a number of different occasions, sharing one video from 2018.
Joshua Kelley, a 24-year-old yeoman 3rd class, performs as 'Harpy Daniels' for sailors aboard the carrier Reagan. ((MC3 Charles J. Scudella III/Navy))
The Digital Ambassador initiative that Kelley participated in ran from October 2022 to March 2023 and was "designed to explore the digital environment to reach a wide range of potential candidates," a Navy spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The reason, the spokesperson added, was that the Navy is navigating "the most challenging recruiting environment it has faced since the start of the all-volunteer force."
The spokesperson continued: "The Navy did not compensate YN2 Kelley or any others for being Navy Digital Ambassadors. The pilot has concluded and we are now evaluating the program and how it will exist in the future."
The Navy’s attempts to increase interest among young people comes amidst a historic recruitment crisis. A survey from the Ronald Reagan Institute found that only 13% of 18-29-year-olds are "highly willing" to join the military. Twenty-five percent are "somewhat willing" and 26% are "not willing at all."
Kelley has also posted directly about serving as a "Digital Ambassador" for the Navy on Instagram.
"From joining to 2016 and being able to share my drag experience on my off time with my fellow sailors has been a blessing," Kelley wrote. "This experience has brought me so much strength, courage and ambition to continue being an advocate and representation of queer sailors!"
"Thank you to the Navy for giving me this opportunity! I don't speak for the Navy but simply sharing my experience in the Navy! Hooyah, and let's go Slay!" the drag queen added.
The controversy over drag queens in the military is part of a broader battle over gender ideology in the Navy and all branches of the U.S. armed forces.
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The Navy’s attempts to increase interest among young people comes amidst a historic recruitment crisis. A survey from the Ronald Reagan Institute found that only 13% of 18-29-year-olds are "highly willing" to join the military, 25% are "somewhat willing" and 26% are "not willing at all." (CREDIT: Twitter @TaylerUSA)
In March, nearly two dozen House Democrats proposed legislation that would prohibit the Department of Defense from discriminating against transgender people who want to serve in the military.
The bill from Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., is aimed at stopping Republicans from reestablishing former President Trump’s ban on enlisting anyone with gender dysphoria or who has already undergone gender transitioning.
"Anyone willing and able to serve our country should be able to serve authentically," said Jacobs, who is also vice chair of the Congressional Equity Caucus and co-chair of the Transgender Equality Taskforce.
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The U.S. Navy, like the rest of the military, has been facing a recruitment crisis. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
Some Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., on the other hand, introduced legislation earlier this year to prevent transgender individuals from serving in the military unless they meet certain specifications.
"Biden has turned our military into a woke social experiment," Rubio said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "It is a stupid way to go about protecting our nation. We need to spend more time thinking about how to counter threats like China, Russia, and North Korea and less time thinking about pronouns."
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Fox News’ Peter Kasperowicz contributed to this report.