Performer and artist Starlotte Satine wants more glamour and opulence for Toronto live performance. It’s why she has scaled up the burlesque shows she produces to create immersive, time-travelling events.
In March, she produced a sold-out 1920s and ‘30s themed evening at the El Mocambo music venue that featured drag and burlesque performances backed by vaudevillian live band the Odd Fellows Orchestra, a troupe of swing dancers, and sideshow acts that included a snake and sword swallowing.
The event was a “smash success,” she said, noting tickets sold out two weeks ahead of the show after she posted a viral Instagram and TikTok video made with help from queer event organizers Something.
Satine decided to do a big emo-themed show at the El Mo, promoting it largely through social media, paying Meta about $300 for targeted ads. It’s a $16,000 production, invested solely by Satine.
But Tuesday morning, Satine woke up to find her performance Instagram account, vintage clothing business account and personal Facebook accounts, with a combined reach of more than 200,000 views a month, deleted by Meta. The social media company said in a pop-up window, of which the Star has screenshots, that Satine didn’t follow their terms, and that a post of hers from February was alleged to be “co-ordinating harm.”
Satine denies her post violates Meta’s terms, and said she is “the most stressed I have ever been,” as she not only relies on social media to promote the show and herself as a performer, but she is also at risk of losing a large portion of her income that comes through her vintage clothing business.
The post that Meta flagged
The post Meta took issue with was from February 2026. It is a photo, viewed by the Star, of Satine and two other dancers performing in bikinis, photographed from behind. The photo caption promoted a Valentine’s Day event at The Painted Lady, a popular bar on Ossington Avenue. On Wednesday, the bar’s Instagram account was also suspended by Meta.
The accounts of the other two dancers in the photo, as well as Sudbury Burlesque, a performance troupe for which Satine used to manage social media, were also suspended, but have since been reinstated. On Thursday, Meta suspended the Instagram account of Satine’s deceased cat, Clark Gable.
Meta’s “harm” policy states that it does not allow users to post content that is “facilitating, organizing, promoting or admitting to certain criminal or harmful activities targeted at people, businesses, property or animals.”
Meta did not respond to a request for comment from the Star for this story.
Satine’s removal, on the cusp of the largest event she has produced, is the latest example of ongoing, arbitrary censorship by social media giants.
The show is set for Oct. 2. A venue that holds 350 people. A nine-person band, including Sum 41 bassist Jason “Cone” McCaslin. A stacked cast of award-winning performers. Drag queens, including two-time “Dragula” contestant Yovska. Burlesque dancers, including Miss Exotic World winner Lou Lou La Duchesse de Rière. Surprises. Prizes for best dressed. Era-appropriate candy girls touring the room with tricks and treats up their sleeves.
“We want people to feel like they’ve just graduated high school again,” said Satine. “There’s so much going on for the night.”
But without her Instagram and Facebook accounts, Satine said she feels “devastated” to be unable to create hype for an event that relies so heavily on social media for ticket sales.
“To have it all just completely deleted on in the drop of a hat at the exact same time that we just happen to be trying to promote a show in the city. It’s incredibly discouraging and heartbreaking, and it’s very stressful.”
Other Toronto groups recently hit by bans
Late last year, Sapphic Paradise, a Toronto-based collective of queer, Black and brown strippers, had the same thing happen to its Instagram accounts after they posted a promotional event poster for a prom-themed event, which showed a photo of a pair of legs wearing high-heeled shoes and a rose, both in the snow. Meta removed the post and the accounts of every performer tagged in the post, despite the collective’s assertion that nothing on its page or profiles broke Meta’s rules.
In June 2026, the queer Toronto organization Something, which made Satine’s viral video for her last show, also had its business and personal accounts temporarily disabled by Meta when it made a video that promoted a Pride party. Something was told by Meta that a short video it had posted “may exploit others for profit.” Meta said the 10-second clip, which showed footage from prior Something events of performers and people dancing, had violated “community standards on human exploitation.”
None of these images appear to violate Meta’s rules regarding nudity. Meta also listed examples of things not allowed on its platforms: sex trafficking, helping with an illegal adoption; or co-ordinating slavery or forced labour.
Satine said this censorship creates even more financial risk for event producers and is part of the reason Toronto does not see a lot of large-scale drag and burlesque events.
“I wake up and I basically have a panic attack for breakfast, and then I cry through my to-do list, which is not healthy by any means,” she said.
“But we’re working on it. We’re doing our best, and regardless of all the circumstances, we are so excited to put on the show. It’s the most nostalgic, glamorous, emo-themed night.”
