Drag queen storytime: Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki faces defamation action from Coco, Erika Flash

Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki is facing defamation action from drag performers CoCo and Erika Flash, whose storytime events the church attempted to stop.

Entertainment company Haus of Flash Limited, along with performers Sunita Torrance and Daniel Lockett, said they would file proceedings against Tamaki and other church members at the Auckland High Court tomorrow.

As well as defamation claims, they said they would be claiming breach of contract. The breach of contract claims relate to the cancellation of shows they were booked to perform - allegedly due to Tamaki and Destiny Church members.

They said they would also file claims of conspiracy to injure and unlawful means conspiracy.

The conspiracy claims related to allegations Tamaki and other church members published “disinformation and hatred against [Haus of Flash, Torrance and Lockett]”. They claimed material Tamaki and church members published was “designed to ‘injure the legitimate business interests of Haus of Flash’”.

New Plymouth-based company Haus of Flash gave examples of statements allegedly made by Tamaki and Destiny Church members, including that drag queen story time was “like the wolf dressed as granny waiting for [Little] Red Riding Hood”; “foul predator behaviour”; “grooming” and “targeting our innocent kids with their filth”.

A spokeswoman for Tamaki and Destiny Church said they would not comment until tomorrow.

Daniel Lockett as Erika Flash (left) and Sunita Torrance as Coco with Hastings Distric Councillor Wendy Schollum at a Rainbow Storytime NZ childrens' reading event at a library in Hastings May 2022. Picture supplied

Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki. Photo / Alex Burton

The Herald understood Haus of Flash had planned to host events at the Rotorua library for March 21, the Gisborne library for March 26, and the Hastings library for March 27 as part of the Rainbow Storytime show.

It follows another event slated for Upper Hutt library this Thursday being cancelled after a campaign by Destiny Church to have it shut down.

Tamaki called on Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy to cancel the event, warning “if the mayor and his councillors do not shut this event down, I have instructed our Destiny Church members and ManUp men to shut it down”.

Members from the church and protest group the Freedom and Rights Coalition went to the Upper Hutt City Council offices to speak with Guppy about the event yesterday, handing over a petition from those opposing the drag storytime.

Tamaki has previously spoken about an “excessive rainbow-washing that is occurring across New Zealand” and has said “the over-promotion and protection of this ... is not right”.

He made the comments after his grandson-in-law Ford O’Connor pleaded guilty to vandalising the Karangahape Rd rainbow crossing in March.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.