Jackie Beat Implores ‘Drag Race’ Queens to ‘Do Their F*cking Job’ and Resist Trump
In a Facebook post published last night, California-based drag legend Jackie Beat implored the contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race to take a political stand against U.S. President Donald Trump.
Jackie Beat, who regularly tours the world with live stage performances and famously appeared in the 1995 documentary Wigstock: The Movie, wrote:
“The world doesn’t need more mimes. it needs more court jesters who point out that the emperor has no clothes. Drag queens, do your fucking job!”
“1) It’s 2018. Our country is going to Hell in a designer handbag. If you’re a drag queen, ESPECIALLY ONE WHO WAS ON THAT TV SHOW THAT INSTANTLY AFFORDS ONE RECOGNITION & FAME AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE, & you refuse to “get political” — FUCK YOU.
“2) I’m not asking you to march or give lengthy speeches… Just sit on your padded ass & tweet ANYTHING. Make a point, take a stand. Stop playing it down the middle, bitch. LET YOUR FANS KNOW EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE. And more importantly, WHO YOU AREN’T.”
Beat’s message has since been shared over 100 times (as of the time of this article’s publication), including by Drag Race Seasons 3 and 5 winners Raja and Jinkx Monsoon.
In the past RuPaul himself has said that Drag Race fans support drag as an antidote to Trump.
“Politically, it’s a rebellion of that ego-dominance in our world. The ego is all about identity and dominance, and what we are experiencing politically is the manifestation of that ego-dominance,” RuPaul said. “Trump is the poster child for ego and that braggart mentality. I believe the pendulum will swing the other way. I believe the people who are conscious of what’s happening naturally root for our show.”
Why drag queens need to stand up to Trump
In case you need reminding, Trump has been downright toxic to LGBTQ Americans, and trans people in particular. His litany of offenses includes trying to reinstate a ban on transgender military members, appointing numerous anti-LGBTQ judges and an anti-LGBTQ Supreme Court Justice, rescinding Obama-era memos protecting trans students, sending an anti-trans activist to a U.N. meeting on women’s rights, supporting a narrowly defeated bill that would’ve defunded medical coverage for transgender soldiers and killing a rule placing transgender people in prisons matching their gender identity.
He’s fared no better on LGBTQ rights in general by starting a so-called civil rights division to ensure that medical professionals won’t have to serve LGBTQ people, failing to recognize LGBTQ Pride month, dismantling the U.S. government’s HIV advisory board, removing any LGBTQ information from the White House website, dropping questions about LGBTQ health from the nation’s largest health survey, deleting public information about an American law forbidding anti-LGBTQ healthcare discrimination, proposing a health care plan that would’ve been disastrous for LGBTQ people, signing a law that endangers LGBTQ sex workers and writing in favor of anti-gay discrimination at public businesses.
Considering that many contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race have hundreds of thousands of followers worldwide who can get politically engaged and vote, taking a stand against Trump could encourage countless others to do the same.
Is Jackie Beat right? Should Drag Race contestants be getting political on social media?
Photos of Jackie Beat by Austin Young
