Staten Island: Beauty Queens Banned From St. Patrick’s Parade After Pageant Winner Comes Out As Bisexual

First, a report from yesterday:

On Sunday, Miss Staten Island is taking a walk — and a stand. Madison L’Insalata — who exclusively revealed to The Post she is bisexual — plans to deck herself out in rainbow gear when she marches in the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Parade.

Organizers have again banned the Pride Center of Staten Island from marching and L’Inslata wants to show her support for the LGBTQ community. “There’s no rule against me wearing a rainbow,” said L’Insalata, 23, who has never before publicly discussed her sexual orientation. “I want people to see the colors and ask questions.”

Larry Cummings, a representative for the parade’s organizing committee, did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment. But he told the Staten Island Advance last week: “Here’s the deal, it’s a non-sexual identification parade and that’s that. No, they are not marching. Don’t try to keep asking a million friggin’ questions, OK?”

The Staten Island Advance reports:

The head organizer of Staten Island’s annual St. Patrick’s Parade has banned all pageant winners from marching, the Advance has learned. As a result, the decision has thwarted Miss Staten Island’s controversial plans to march in support of the LGBTQ community, after the Pride Center of Staten Island had again been excluded from participating.

Madison L’Insalata, Miss Staten Island 2020, announced publicly Saturday she’s bisexual, and would be wearing a rainbow colored scarf while waving from the back of a convertible along the parade route in West Brighton.

Hours after her announcement made headlines, parade head Larry Cummings placed a call to pageant director Jim Smith to inform him all pageant winners, the cars they were set to ride in and the drivers were banned from the parade for “safety” reasons, Smith said.

Also from The Advance:



Amid a wave of controversy against the LGBTQ community, Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) said his display of a tiny pride flag pin got him booted from marching in the Staten Island St. Patricks Parade on Forest Avenue on Sunday.

Borelli, wearing a small rainbow flag lapel pin on his jacket, was told by one of the parade marshals that he couldn’t march, said the councilman.

“They [the parade marshals] physically blocked me,” said Borelli, who had planned to march in the parade despite many of the Island’s politicians decision to either not march or boycott the event. “They [the parade marshals] physically blocked me, my wife and two boys in strollers.”