RuPaul, host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” called out lawmakers for their ban on drag queen shows.
On March 8, RuPaul posted a video to his Instagram page where he addressed the controversy. An American flag can be seen in the background.
“Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school. But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues,” he said.
RuPaul added, “They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective.”
“They think our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they’re wrong because that is our strength,” he continued.
RuPaul proceeded to call drag queens “the Marines of the queer movement.”
The creator, host and producer of 'RuPaul’s Drag Race' slammed what he called “stunt queen” politicians and said recent legislation targeting drag shows is a technique to distract from "the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on." https://t.co/d4N2BClCtL
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 9, 2023
“Don’t get it twisted and don’t be distracted. Register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government,” he urged his followers.
He concluded, “And by the way, a social media post has never been as powerful as a registered vote.”
On March 2, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill into law which bans an “adult cabaret performance” in public or in a location where minors are present. Violation of this law could lead to criminal charges. The law will take effect on July 1.
In an interview with NBC News in December 2022, RuPaul spoke about the reason behind why he created his show.
“We started the show as a celebration of drag, to celebrate the art of drag, and also the courageous hearts of these kids who come up from homes — a lot of times they’re thrown out of their homes — but they find a place on our show and they find an audience,” he told NBC News. “And they are traveling the world. They’re doing their own shows, movies.”
He added, They’re doing it all. It’s great.”