Gays Against Groomers
About
Gays Against Groomers (GAG) is an American far-right and anti-LGBT organization that campaigns against gender-affirming care for minors, protests LGBT-themed school curricula, and criticizes events like Drag Queen Story Hour. The group also opposes trans women in women’s sports, children attending pride events, and brands that promote LGBT representation during Pride Month.
Founded
Founded in June 2022 by Jaimee Michell, GAG started as a Twitter account and has since been incorporated. Michell, who has a background in right-wing communications, has used the account to share anti-trans rhetoric, drawing comparisons to the Libs of TikTok account. GAG has faced bans from multiple social media and payment platforms for hate speech violations and has received coverage from right-wing media outlets such as Fox News and OANN.
Controversy:
Organizations like GLAAD and the ADL have criticized GAG for using the term "groomer" to perpetuate harmful conspiracy theories about the LGBT community. GAG has also helped organize anti-LGBTQ rallies, partnering with other far-right groups such as Moms for Liberty and the Proud Boys, positioning itself within the broader anti-LGBT movement in the U.S. during the 2020s.
Appearance in Conservative Media
In an August 2022 interview with OANN, Gays Against Groomers founder Jaimee Michell drew a controversial comparison between gender-affirming care and the experiments conducted by Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele on Auschwitz prisoners. Alex Bollinger, writing for LGBTQ Nation, criticized this remark, highlighting that the Nazis destroyed Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexology, which was instrumental in advancing understanding of LGBTQ identities, including transgender issues.
On November 8, following the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting that left five dead, including two trans individuals, Michell attributed the violence to gender-affirming care. During an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight, she described the shooting as "expected and predictable" and suggested that violence would continue until what she termed the "evil agenda attacking children" was halted. Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Orlando nightclub shooting and press secretary for Equality Florida, condemned Michell's comments as a "crystal clear threat," implying that violence would persist until her demands were met.