#also do the cast of Too Wong Foo count?

[roidespd-blog]

Chapter Eleven : RuPaul

“Hello ! Hello ! Hello !” RuPaul Charles (born November 17, 1960) has been a Pop culture Icon for the past 30 years as a punk rock singer turned dancer turned drag queen turned singer-songwriter turned model turned talk-show host turned occasional actor turned producer turned cosmetic guru turned all-around business powerhouse. Though there doesn’t seem to be any secrets surrounding the most famous drag performer in the world (and I’m not running a investigation blog), I do wish to retrace his steps, pay homage to a singular career as he just launched his new talk show last night (June 10th, 2019), and talk about the mistakes he made along the way as a way of learning from them all together.

THE DRAG REVOLUTION

Unless you were alive and moving around Atlanta in the 80s, you probably first put your eyes on RuPaul as an extra dancing on B-52’s “Love Shack”. Yes, he was a drag performer back then too. A starring role on a low-budget film called “Star Booty” here, appearances on a couple of documentaries there. Mostly nightclub work for a true working guuuurl.

In 1993, He recorded his debut album, Supermodel of the World, clearly stating his ambitions. His first single, “Supermodel (You Better Work)” is actually a masterpiece of dance/house music. The track and album were modest successes but attracted extreme media attention through heavy rotation on MTV. Soon, he became the first drag queen to sign a modeling contract (for cosmetics) and released his (first) autobiography, “Lettin’ It All Hang Out”. Side bar, I do believe that the first time I was made aware of RuPaul was in the 1995 movie ‘To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar”, a suck-my-bone-marrow American imitation of “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. It’s about three drag queens going on a road trip from New York to Hollywood to participate in the biggest Drag Pageant of America. It’s quite vulgar, not subtle for one second and put three straight male actors into drag in performances that don’t shy away from clichés. In the end, they (SPOILER ALERT) made it to the competition and who’s crowning the winner ? Miss RuPaul, anty. I used to love that movie as a kid. Didn’t get it was about drag queens though. But please, watch Priscilla, instead. End of side bar.

By 1996, VH1 gave him his own talk show “The RuPaul Show”. For 2 seasons and 100 episodes, RuPaul interviewed celebrity guests (from Diana Ross to Cher) and made history as one of the first openly gay person to host a show on national television. For the rest of the decade, he released two more albums (one being a Christmas record entitled Ho Ho Ho — priceless name) that lead to commercial failure and overall media fatigue. Because it’s fun to see you, but “different” is better in small portions.

SECOND CUMING

From 1998 to 2004, only one forgettable song from RuPaul was released. This fourth record Red Hot (2004) received little to no coverage — Although the singles kept topping the dance charts. RuPaul admitted to feeling frustrated over the lack of interest in his work during the period, noting the media wasn’t reviewing his records and putting him on magazine covers anymore. Quote “I don’t know what happened. It seemed I couldn’t get press on my album un less I was willing to play in the role that the mainstream press has assigned to gay people, which is as servants of straight ideas”.

In 2008 however, Logo came to RuPaul with an idea that changed so much lives in the process. The offered him the possibility to host and produced a reality competition program based on his brand name called RuPaul’s Drag Race. For those who still don’t know what Drag Race is (HOW DARE YOU?), the premise of the program has drag queens competing to be selected as “America’s Next Drag Superstar” in a series of mini and maxi challenges, culminating in the end of each episode to the bottom two queens lip-syncing for their motherfucking lives and the elimination of one of them. The (new) drag revolution began on February 2, 2009 with a first season that was a bit disavowed by the host himself but it was successful enough to be renewed for a second season. A then a third. And a fourth and so on. The show just ended its eleventh cycle.

The show itself had a very interesting journey. It debuted on the fringe of entertainment, a fun little anomaly for the “in” people. It developed in its first three seasons into a somewhat very solid shows, powering through better storylines, challenges and candidates. In its fourth season, it started to be critically lauded as an incredible piece of pop culture with a cast of queens out of this world. Creatively, the show peaked from season 4 to 6 (4 having the best queens, 5 the best storylines, 6 the best narrative structure). By season 7, it was a phenomenon that keeps on growing as of today.

Last September, Drag Race received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program for the first time. RuPaul himself won Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program three years in a row and each year, the audience gets bigger and bigger. The show (who has already been renewed for a 12th year) has introduced us to almost 150 queens over 145 episodes and spawned a couple of spin-off shows, some successful (Drag Race All Stars — four seasons and counting) some not so much (RuPaul’s Drag U, canceled in 2012 after three pretty uneventful seasons). A few international incarnations were made around the world, most notably the UK edition that’s about to be released in 2019 with RuPaul (and bestie Michelle Visage) returning as judges.

EVERYBODY SAY… LOVE ?

From that storyline of a Phoenix rising from its ashes, RuPaul developed into you can pretty much describe as an “Empire Incarnate”. He released 10 new albums, 8 of them serving as official and non-official soundtracks for the show (which is made of RuPaul songs from beginning to end — ROYALTIIIIIES, PEOPLE!). He created a podcast called What’s the Tee ? with Michelle Visage in 2014 as a way to revive The RuPaul Show into another form. He developed everything RuPaul from glass wear to cosmetic lines, promoting them all on the show, released 3 more books (the latest being called “GuRu”) and establishing an annual event a few years ago called ‘RuPaul’s Drag-Con’ happening in New York City and Los Angeles with most of the show’s drag queens making appearances. Basically, he’s making so, so, so much money. An impressive feat from someone who came from nothing and did something with what he had.

Unfortunately, success and worldwide exposure don’t come without their fair share of controversies. First, the fact that everything is about RuPaul, RuPaul, RuPaul (the puns, the challenges, the fact that HE gets to choose who becomes America’s Next Drag Superstar, blablablah) comes to a breaking point in 2019. After eleven years of almost non-stop self promotion, I do feel like I need to take a little break from his sphere. I mean, we had four seasons of Drag Race and Allstars in the spam of 18 months. That’s 44 episodes of intense Queen Dramas and Glitter Balls. I do feel like too much of a good thing harms the quality and appreciation of a program. Drag Race’s latest seasons weren’t as thrilling as the previous ones, mostly due to lack of imagination in challenges, weaker casts and a formula that refuses to evolve with time. As the show went on to become an actual phenomenon, it became a bit too pleasing for all crowds, including straight people. Not that it’s a bad thing that straight people can watch and appreciate the show, but adapting it for their comprehension is kind of fucked up. They should adapt to the show’s (and ours) culture. We open the window and let the song be heard, we don’t blast the door open and give the partition for free. Anyway, just an opinion.

My biggest concern with RuPaul comes from his relationship with the trans community. Drag Race has featured a number of contestants who now identity as trans women (Sonique, Carment Carrera, Jiggly Caliente, Monica Beverly Hillz, Kenya Michaels, Gia Gunn, Peppermint), some of them making their identity public while competing on the show and that’s a good thing for the trans representation around the world.

In 2014, Carmen Carrera (Season 3) and Monica Beverly Hillz (Season 5) criticized the show’s use of words “tranny” and “shemale”. Well, yes it’s bad but the show is about drag queens and they can call themselves whatever they want, right ? (That’s me trying to come up with excuses for RuPaul back in the day). They also described the announcement phrase ‘You’ve got she-mail’ as transphobic, the same year a mini challenge called “Female or She-male” was used on the show’s sixth season. Hmm, well, the producers removed that phrase and have been careful about their challenges ever since, plus RuPaul released an apology so it’s good, right ? (Me, still finding ways to find peace within myself). In 2018, RuPaul gave an interview to the Guardian in which he states that a post-transition trans woman would ‘probably not’ be accepted on the show, noting that at the time of competition Peppermint (season 9) had not yet had breast implants. Fuck. Ru. RuPaul also compared trans drag queens who had transitioned to athletes who had taken performance-enhancing drugs. Fuck. Ru. Two. He has since expressed regrets for the comments he made but I got to say, regrets won’t totally cut it. For a man who ends every season of Drag Race with a “EVERYBODY SAY LOOOOVE!” and preaches acceptance and self-love and seems to be so involved in his community, his views on the trans community are problematic. The only criteria for contestants are “Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent”, which are qualities you can also find with Trans women. Damn, don’t you know that drag queen is a vocation, NOT an identity ?

I believe that over exposure and the lack of course correction on some of this opinions could cause RuPaul’s downfall in the near future. He’s a phoenix, he’ll come back I’m sure but if he plays his cards right, he won’t have to DO come back. Last night, his new talk show, RuPaul, aired for the first time for a three-week try basis. I watched it this morning on YouTube and… Why do you have a talk show, man ? What’s in it for me to keep watching it, aside from the fact that you are a pleasant person to see for 40 minutes ? The talk show is a vanity project that probably won’t help with the overexposure I keep talking about. I do hope that in the next three weeks though, you will receive a trans person on the show and face the criticism you’ve been shamelessly ignoring on Drag Race.

From the icon who expressed so eloquently how it’s like to have an inner saboteur, to his “you can call he. You can call she. You call me regis and Kathie Lee, I don’t care ! Just as long as you call me” or his incredible “Unless they’re paying your bills, pay for bitches no mind”, I do hope you’ll reconsider some of your actions. Do a little less Drag Race, a little less self promotion. Go enjoy your ranch with your husband for a year or so, reacquaint yourself with your community and come back.

This was an homage to you, RuPaul. I do hope I won’t come to regret my words.

NOW SISSY THAT WALK (ALL THE WAY TO WYOMING)