RuPaul Says Drag is a Weapon We Can Use to Fight Back Against Trump
The ninth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race is almost here, and this time around Ru is bringing the big guns as Lady Gaga and Hollywood Holler’s own Ross Mathews join the show as judges along with Michelle Visage and Carson Kressley!
The newly married RuPaul knows how powerful Drag Race is going to be this year.
Trump’s administration has left much of America feeling helpless, disappointed, and terrified of the future. But, according to Ru, drag can be the balm that heals our pain and anxiety.
“Drag really exists to remind humans that life is not to be taken too seriously,” Ru explains to Marie Claire. “The façades that we all put up are meant to be poked at. Drag is there to say,’Yeah, I’m a man, and I’m laying the cards out on the table. I’m there to show you that this whole world is an illusion, so if you’re smart, you’ll look beyond the illusion.’ That’s the creed of drag right there. Look beyond the illusion. That’s why it’s more important now, because people seem to have amnesia and forgotten what a f*cking used car salesman looks like….
He continued: “We live in an egocentric culture, and Trump is the poster boy of that egocentric culture. Drag is the antithesis of ego, because it says, ‘I’m a shape shifter. I make no bones about it. What I’m presenting is completely, 100 percent fabricated.’ The ego on the other hand says, ‘No, I am what I say I am, and I’m 100 percent authentic.’ That’s the first clue that you need to look for when you’re dealing with a used car salesman.”
RuPaul also goes on to explain the moment when Ross Mathews responded to Internet far-right troll Milo Tiannopolous (who is openly gay) after he insulted him for being feminine. With class, Ross said, “I’m proud to be the antithesis of whatever that guy is.”
“Ross’ response was so perfect. It is coming from a place of love,” Ru said. “The ego cannot deal with that. That is the greatest ammunition against the ego. It cannot deal with authenticity or love or true feelings. It’s laying it on the table and saying, ‘This is fake. Want to know the real me? Get inside my heart.’ And that’s why Drag Race has been such an important show throughout these years. Because through the course of it, you get to see the strength, and the true grit, and the tenacity of the human spirit in the kids who come on our show. And you fall in love with it. That vulnerability is where we have to go next. We think we’re separate from one another. This whole election was all about separating people. And that’s what the ego wants to do.”
Read the full interview at Marie Claire.
Ross Mathews and Wendy Williams are kicking off the ninth season, which is now on VH1, when it premieres this Friday, March 24 at 8/7c in a special called “Fierce Fridays.” Together, they’ll be pregaming and watching the premiere in real time along with fans.
Don’t forget to catch it!