Emmy winner RuPaul has officially confused folks with his backstage answer at the Emmys.
After RuPaul and his team won for Outstanding Competition Program for RuPaul’s Drag Race, Essence’s Danielle Young asked RuPaul about the importance of diversity behind the scenes on television, including RuPaul’s Drag Race. In fact, Young said she asked that question because there wasn’t a lot of diversity within the crew that RuPaul brought on stage.
After making an awkward joke that he represents “the BLT community” as well as the LGBT community, RuPaul said, “First of all, the host of our show is Black, gay and a drag queen, so check, check and check. But we’re pretty diverse. There are lots of different types of people here. Is it important, absolutely.”
After alluding to the famous quote “All my life I had to fight” from The Color Purple (and bungling the quote), he said, “It wasn’t easy getting here. You know what I had to do. And some of the things, I’m not even going to repeat that I had to do.”
In the press room at the @TheEmmys, I asked @RuPaul to address the diversity or lack thereof in his show @RuPaulsDragRace. And… pic.twitter.com/kL1EYxJQXK
— Danielle Young (@RhapsoDani) September 23, 2019
Young followed up with some problematic aspects of his response, tweeting in part, “He thinks [because] he is Black, gay & a drag queen, that somehow [h]is diversity quota is met.”
What bothered me about RuPaul’s response.
1. When I said he reps the LGBT community, he said also the BLT community. ????
2. He thinks bc he is Black, gay & a drag queen, that somehow is diversity quota is met.
3. He couldn’t quote The Color Purple.
4. Look at the “diversity.” pic.twitter.com/Kks07oYDsE
— Danielle Young (@RhapsoDani) September 23, 2019
Folks agreed with this assessment.
All of this. His response is so problematic. His BLT comment was awkward, out of place and rude!
— Ty Alexander (@loveTyAlexander) September 23, 2019
i’m glad u put a spotlight on how much of a hypocrite and fraud rupaul is. everything is very self serving when it comes from him and with his platform, u would’ve thought he would be doing braver things for our community not comparing it to bacon, lettuce and tomatoes ????
— ‧͙˚*༓【AALIYAH KYLIE】 ༓*˚⁺͙ (@aaliyahkyky) September 23, 2019
What is the BLT community?
— Eva ???????????????? (@awalicious98) September 23, 2019
He couldn’t quote Color Purple??? pic.twitter.com/xmOqD4FFLI
— Commotion When My Pen Hits! (@NikosMightyDad) September 23, 2019
The optics of this image are iconic to the struggle for LGBTQ, African Americans, and minorities alike. Rupaul lost a momentous moment to speak truth to power. Uggh..
— MontlakeMansion (@MansionMontlake) September 23, 2019
Even Drag Race alum Willam had some things to say about RuPaul’s comments.
well there was this one latino named Delta Work who won an Emmy last year for Drag Race as the dept head that was then not included on the win this year even though she was there the whole season. Everybody say love my ass…
— Willam (@willam) September 23, 2019
Aside from the franchise’s stateside series, RuPaul’s Drag Race has upcoming spinoffs in Thailand and the UK, the latter of which is premiering this October on the BBC iPlayer.
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Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
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