Drag Race star Gottmik RuVeals how RuPaul ‘really supported’ her behind the scenes
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Gottmik (Magnus Hastings/Attitude magazine)
Drag Race star Gottmik has revealed how RuPaul showered her with support as the pair “really clicked” behind the scenes.
Gottmik joined season 13 as Drag Race‘s first openly trans masculine contestant, a seismic step for a show that has, at times, struggled and been criticised for largely excluding trans queens.
While she’s had to endure “transphobic” criticism from some previous contestants, the warm welcome she got from RuPaul more than made up for it.
“RuPaul really was super-excited and really supported me,” the queen said in an interview Attitude. “Like what you saw in the ball, her being obsessed with my executive look and all of that, that was so real. I remember turning onto the stage, and her gasping and just dying.
“And when we were doing walkthroughs, she picked up the vibe that I was just so myself and so excited to be there, and I loved, genuinely loved, talking to her. I could sit and talk to RuPaul at that table all day. And I just think she got that energy and we just really clicked.”
Gottmik graces the cover of April’s issue of Attitude magazine (Magnus Hastings/Attitude magazine)
Gottmik puts her transness front and centre on the show, delighting fans with her whip-smart sass and outfits that defiantly display her top surgery scars.
She spoke to the magazine about the lack of trans male representation in the media, admitting that she previously doubted her identity because she couldn’t identify with anyone she saw.
“Even before I transitioned medically, I kind of was even debating, like, am I trans?” she said. “It was in my brain for so long, just because I would look at all the trans guys in the media and be like, that is just not me. That is not who I am.
“I’m way more feminine. I love drag, and just looking at these really trans masculine men, I was, like, how could that possibly be who I am? And then the second I just woke up, and I was, like, girl, if cis-gender men can be feminine, a trans guy can be feminine.”
She continued: “Just because it’s beyond you, doesn’t mean it’s not there. So, girl, do it, and pave this path. And that’s what I did, and I’m living.”
