Amanda Lepore | Photo: Josef Jasso courtesy of Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore has discussed the controversy around RuPaul’s recent comments about not allowing trans drag queens to compete on Drag Race post-transition.
In a new interview with Gay Star News Amanda, who identifies as transexual, said: ‘Well, I respect RuPaul. And it’s her show, you know, so, you can do that. But I do think there should be a spin-off or something, [for] bio girls and trans girls.’
‘I don’t think RuPaul meant it as a put down’
Amanda, the self-confessed ‘most expensive body on earth’, rose to superstardom as the muse of iconic photographer David LaChapelle.
She furthermore added: ‘I mean, it is different, and you get ready a little differently, so I understand RuPaul.
‘And I don’t think RuPaul meant it as a put down. I think RuPaul meant it as he considers them women, and that it wouldn’t be fair to have a woman compete because they’d have an advantage.’
Amanda recently released LEPORE., an EP containing tracks such as ‘My Panties’ and ‘Too Drunk to F***’.
Check back this Sunday for our full interview with the international party girl.
‘For men to do it, it’s really punk rock’
RuPaul sparked a furore when he recently told The Guardian: ‘Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it’s not men doing it, because at its core it’s a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture. So for men to do it, it’s really punk rock, because it’s a real rejection of masculinity.’
When asked specifically about trans women being drag queens, he brought up season 9 runner-up Peppermint.
‘Peppermint didn’t get breast implants until after she left our show; she was identifying as a woman, but she hadn’t really transitioned,’ he said.
And on whether he would accept a contestant who had, Ru said: ‘Probably not. You can identify as a woman and say you’re transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body.
‘It takes on a different thing; it changes the whole concept of what we’re doing. We’ve had some girls who’ve had some injections in the face and maybe a little bit in the butt here and there, but they haven’t transitioned.’
Peppermint finally speaks out on RuPaul’s controversial trans comments
