Drag Race royalty Alaska makes impassioned plea for RuPaul to let more trans queens bring it to the runway
Alaska (Ole Jensen/Corbis via Getty)
Drag Race royalty Alaska has delivered an impassioned plea demanding RuPaul bring trans drag queens into the mix.
Speaking earlier this week at the Queerty awards, Alaska and fellow Drag Race alumnus Willam read out the names of the trans people who have competed on the show over the years. They read out the names of Carmen Carrera, Monica Beverly-Hillz, Peppermint, Sonique, Gia Gunn, and Jiggly Caliente.
“We see you, we love you, we f**king value you so much. And anyone who has done drag a day in their life knows that we would not be f**king here without the contributions of trans drag artists,” Alaska said at the event.
“It is my grown-up Christmas wish with this award that hopefully, we can review one day an episode with some more trans girls who are fucking amazing.”
Alaska joins Aja, Detox and Carmen Carrera in criticising RuPaul over trans inclusion on Drag Race.
Alaska is just the latest in a line of former Drag Race contestants to hit out at RuPaul over the lack of openly trans competitors on the show.
Last month, non-binary ninth season alumnus Aja said denying trans people on the show is “wrong and we all know it”.
“Remember not all work spaces are trans-friendly, and drag is the main income of many trans people. Denying trans woman of making their coins, showing their art in the name of capitalism and Emmys,” they said.
We see you, we love you, we f**king value you so much.
Meanwhile, Detox recently hit out at the lack of trans contestants in the upcoming twelfth season.
“Enough with the feigned inclusivity,” she tweeted. “Time to start putting your money where your mouth is.
“It’s not about political correctness, it’s about the conscious exclusion of an integral part of the drag community.
“I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for the trans performers that took me under their wings, and they deserve the same kinds of opportunities.”
RuPaul has claimed his comments on trans contestants were taken ‘out of context’.
Elsewhere, Carmen Carrera, who came out as trans following her stint on Drag Race, took the criticism a step further and dubbed RuPaul “the Hitler, false prophet, anti-Christ of the LGBTQ community”.
RuPaul has come under fire for his past comments on trans contestants. In March 2018, he told The Guardian that he would “probably not” allow a transgender drag queen to compete on the show, drawing a distinction between trans women who have undergone some form of medical transition and those who are yet to do so or choose not to.
“Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it’s not men doing it, because at its core it’s a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture,” RuPaul said.
He claimed in a recent interview with The Sunday Times that his comments had been taken “so out of context”.
