Spears visit was a team effort by LGBT leaders!

It took a gay village to bring Britney Spears to San Francisco, starting with mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty and extending to bar owners, drag queens, and cheerleaders, writes Matt Baume for the Bay Area Reporter.

The saga started with Mark Robertson, a producer at ABC's Good Morning America and a longtime friend of Dufty's. In late 2010, Dufty said, Robertson called him to propose shooting a Britney Spears promotional video in the Castro.

That set off months of discussions and negotiations. From the beginning, Dufty felt strongly that the show should feature local celebrity drag queens.


"While people may jet around Brentwood trying to spot Cameron Diaz, our drag personalities are our celebrities," Dufty said. "They raise money constantly for different charities. They add a lot to the vitality of the Castro. I was straightforward with Mark that I felt it was really important that they be onstage and be part of the program."

Producers for GMA asked Heklina, Sister Roma, Juanita More, Pollo del Mar, and Bay Area Reporter society columnist Donna Sachet to introduce the show Sunday, March 27 at the Bill Graham Auditorium. The mini-concert featured three songs from Spears's new album, Femme Fatale, which was released Tuesday. (The taping was moved from the Castro due to weather concerns.) With almost no direction, the five queens improvised banter that ranged from insults to couture to an endorsement of Dufty's mayoral bid. That segment of the show wasn't aired, but Spears did Tweet a photo of her father posing with Heklina and Pollo.