Drag Race star Cheryl Hole speaks out following MasterChef backlash: ‘In no way do we mock women’
Cheryl Hole doesn’t have time for anti-drag bigots hating her Celebrity Masterchef appearance. (BBC)
Drag Race UK fan favourite Cheryl Hole has spoken out after her appearance on BBC cooking show Celebrity MasterChef sparked a storm of bigoted outrage.
After competing on the first season of Drag Race UK and Drag Race UK vs. The World, Cheryl Hole stole our hearts – and bagged a frequent spot on mainstream TV.
After appearing on The Only Way Is Essex and Celebs on the Farm, Cheryl announced back in June that her next reality TV-based challenge would come via BBC cooking show, Celebrity Masterchef.
Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday (16 August) ahead of her kitchen debut, Cheryl said that her appearance on the programme was a chance to show that the LGBTQ+ community is nothing to be fearful of.
In the US, the UK and around the world, LGBTQ+ people have seen their rights questioned by politicians and their safety compromised by rising levels of hate crime. Trans people have borne the brunt of much of the pushback, while demonstrators have protested drag events on both sides of the pond.
“We’ve just had an attack on LGBTQ+ community in Clapham the other day,” Cheryl said. “I don’t understand what’s happening in the world and to have representation for our community, to have voices and stories heard, shows we are nothing to be feared.”
Despite her plea that her Masterchef appearance is a cue for everyone to “have a laugh and just forget”, some sad social media dwellers were left aghast that a drag performer could grace mainstream TV.
Hundreds of anti-drag trolls flocked to the BBC’s article about Cheryl’s appearance on the show, claiming that drag queens are “misogynistic” and “offensive parodies of womanhood”.
One person went as far to claim that Cheryl Hole chopping up a pomegranate on the telly was evidence of the LGBTQ+ community “causing havoc in our society”.
In news that will delight the drag haters, Cheryl was eliminated from the competition during her one and only appearance on the show. Yet she didn’t leave without putting out a statement in defence of her and her drag sisters, and claimed that those spouting vitriol have “proved” her point regarding the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.
“All I will say is people clearly don’t understand the art form of drag and its celebration of women,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“Women shaped me into the person I am today either through music, their words of wisdom or support. In no way do we mock women at all, so to throw that argument at me is in vain.
“People can continue to hurl abuse at me, liken my work to ‘woman-face’ but at the end of the day. This has all stemmed from me speaking up and using my platform on the hate that is directed to our community. And you’ve proved everyone right.”
She implored people to simply enjoy the show, rather than getting worked up about seeing a drag queen “using a few pots and pans and an oven”.
Plus, those who took major issue with her appearance may have bigger fish to fry in the near future, as Cheryl declared that she had been taking note of those who had called her a “paedophile, pervert and groomer”.
“I’m not sure they’ll like the outcome,” she shared in a cryptic tweet, insinuating that they may face a lawsuit for libel.
While anti-drag pundits tripped over themselves to tear Cheryl down, her Drag Race UK sisters made the point that she is not the first queen to appear on Masterchef – Baga Chipz and Kitty Scott-Claus have both recently appeared on the cooking show, to little fanfare.
It’s a signifier of quite how much anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has intensified in recent months.
