AUGUST 09, 2019Culture
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Illustration by BRITT SPENCER“drag is more than putting on a wig and a pair of cha-cha heels.
It’s really about deconstructing our experience as humans on this planet.”
RuPaul is on a mission. The multiple Emmy-award winning drag icon, just nomi-
nated for 14 more for RuPaul’s Drag Race, is bringing his own unique experience
to audiences outside the world of drag, and in the process is changing Holly-
wood. First, there’s his daytime talk show RuPaul. Then there’s AJ and the Queen,
his new Netflix original comedy series co-created with Sex and the City’s Michael
Patrick King about a down-on-her-luck drag queen on the road with an 11-year-
old orphaned stowaway. If that weren’t enough, soon he’ll be expanding the Drag
Race franchise to include Drag Race UK. His mission doesn’t include making
drag mainstream, but rather, using drag as a means to allow people to see who
they are on the inside. “Drag is deconstructing the idea we have of ourselves,”
RuPaul says. “When you’re able to wipe all of that away and build it up, based
on what you feel from the inside out, that’s when you really understand drag.”RuPaul
What do you think RuPaul brings
to daytime TV?
It’s a real organic conversation, and I
think that’s what makes it compelling.
We are actually vibing, you know? It’s
not over-produced in a way that every
answer is thought out.If Donald Trump were a guest what
would you ask him?
Well, ɿrst of all, he would not be a
guest because he wouldn’t want to
have a real conversation. Donald
Trump is a con man. A con man would
never want to be in the presence of a
drag queen, because the drag queen
is going to tell the truth.Do drag queens have a special
ability to connect with audiences
on a deeper level?
Shamans, witch doctors, court jesters,
drag queens are all there to remind
culture to not take itself too seriously.
We are able to break the proverbial
fourth wall–we deconstruct what
we’re doing and then rebuild what
we’re doing on this planet into
something better without all of the
fear and superstition that marks our
experience as humans.What would you lip sync for
your legacy?
A good lip sync song gives you drama
and musical modulations. The content
is sort of bittersweet, morose. So it
would be Cher’s “Save Up All Your
Te a r s. ” Cher is phenomenal. She’s a
fantastic singer, and her voice is better
today than it ever was. —H. Alan ScottPARTING SHOT“Shamans,
witch doctors,
court jesters,
drag queens
are all there to
remind culture
to not take itself
too seriously.”