Navy Used Drag Performer in ‘Digital Ambassador’ Recruiting Program

The USS Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered super carrier, participates in an International Fleet Review commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force at Sagami Bay off Yokosuka, Japan, on Nov. 6, 2022. Issei Kato-Pool/Getty Images

The U.S. Navy hired a drag performer as part of a now-concluded pilot program designed to boost service recruiting.

Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, the drag performer who goes by the stage name “Harpy Daniels,” claimed in a November 2022 Instagram post that the service had invited him to become a “digital ambassador.” In an emailed statement to NTD News on Wednesday, a Navy spokeswoman confirmed that Kelley was employed in the service’s pilot program.