By THE ALASKA STORY
June 30, 2026 – In Seattle, the media coverage of public nudity during the Seattle Pride Parade was as scant as the clothing.
Videos from Seattle’s annual Pride Parade ignited controversy after footage showed nude adults marching through the streets and gathering in public areas where children were present, while Seattle’s major local news outlets largely omitted the incidents from their coverage of the event.
The Seattle Pride Parade, held Sunday, June 28, drew hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators and featured more than 250 parade entries, according to local media.
Most local media coverage emphasized the size of the event, colorful displays, political activism, and themes of inclusion and celebration, and made no mention of the widely circulated videos showing public nudity.
Fully nude bicyclists participated in the Seattle Pride Parade, riding past children with their exposed genitalia.
Video by: @KatieDaviscourt pic.twitter.com/kuJz2cRKBe
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 29, 2026
The videos, posted on X by the Post Millennial, quickly spread across social media and were later highlighted by Fox News. One video, filmed by detransitioner and activist Chloe Cole, shows members of a group called “Friends of Denny Blaine” marching nude in the parade while carrying signs reading “Nude ≠ Lewd,” “Free to be Naked,” and “Nude is Nourishing.” The camera then pans to children seated along the parade route watching the procession as spectators applaud the marchers.
Additional videos show nude adults gathering at the Seattle Center International Fountain after the parade while children played in the water nearby. Another clip captured nude cyclists riding along the parade route as some spectators appeared to shield children’s eyes.
Friends of Denny Blaine is a volunteer organization dedicated to preserving the nudity tradition at Seattle’s Denny Blaine Park, a Lake Washington park long known as an unofficial nude beach and gathering place within Seattle’s LGBTQ community. The organization participated in the Pride parade as an advocacy group promoting what it describes as the park’s “historic nude & queer character.”
The group has also become involved in an ongoing legal dispute over Denny Blaine Park. Nearby residents have sued the City of Seattle, alleging the park has become a public nuisance because of public nudity, sexual activity, public urination, and other conduct. Friends of Denny Blaine has intervened in the lawsuit in defense of the park’s historic clothing-optional status.
The controversy has also renewed attention to Washington’s indecent exposure law.
Seattle police have previously stated that public nudity, by itself, is not prohibited under Seattle’s municipal code. However, Washington law makes it a crime when a person intentionally makes “an open and obscene exposure” knowing it is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm. Under state law, indecent exposure is generally a misdemeanor on a first offense when committed in the presence of a child under 14, with enhanced penalties in certain circumstances involving repeat offenders or registered sex offenders.
No arrests related specifically to public nudity during the 2026 Seattle Pride Parade have been reported. Seattle police reportedly focused on overall event safety and crowd management during the celebration.
While the videos generated widespread criticism on social media and extensive coverage from conservative and national outlets, Seattle’s mainstream media took a different approach.
The Seattle Times published a story celebrating the parade, highlighting its themes of unity, resilience, and community while making no reference to the nude marchers or the ensuing controversy. Other local television coverage similarly focused on the size and festive atmosphere of the event without mentioning the videos that circulated nationally.
The differing editorial decisions have become part of the story itself, with critics arguing that local news organizations ignored a newsworthy controversy while national outlets elevated it as evidence of changing public standards regarding nudity at family-attended events.
One thought on “Seattle Pride parade featured full adult nudity in front of children, but local media looked the other way”
Queers on bikes. Where were the unicycles and tricycles? Non-binaries weren’t well represented.