Arts & Entertainment
Pearl says ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ producers banned her from ‘All Stars’
The season seven contestant says the interaction with Ru ‘broke my spirit’
Pearl (Photo courtesy Project Publicity)
Season seven “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Pearl claims the show’s producers banned her from appearing on an “All Stars” season because of a revealing interview she did about RuPaul.
On “Hey Qween,” Pearl says her interaction with Ru “broke my spirit.”
“We were filming a segment, just kind of chatting, bantering together,” Pearl says. “Then the camera went down for a moment, and I turned to RuPaul and said, ‘Oh my god, I just wanna say thank you so much, like, it’s such an honor to be here, such a pleasure to meet you,’ just giving her everything I ever wanted to say. She turned to me and said, ‘Nothing you say matters unless that camera is rolling.’”
“That broke my spirit, and that is the reason why I had one foot in, one foot out the entire time I was on that show. Maybe that was me being petty, maybe that was me thinking it should’ve been something I never should’ve expected it to be, but in that moment, it was so heartbreaking because I idolized her, I worshipped her, and I felt like it was so disrespectful… so Hollywood, rotted and gross. How could you say that to someone who’s just, like, obsessed with you?” she continued.
Pearl followed up that interview with a video claiming that “RuPaul’s Drag Race” producers informed her she would not be invited onto an “All Stars” season because of the comments.
“If you wanna know the real T, I had a producer from ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ call me after the interview aired and guaranteed me that I would never come back and do ‘All Stars.’ Now, I was never dumb enough to think I would be invited back for ‘All Stars,’ and I was definitely not gunning for it at all, but to openly punish me for being honest about a situation that happened with me after four years of silence is disgusting and shameful. This narrative about how we, Drag Race contestants, owe our lives to ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ that needs to completely change. I’m very sorry to inform you, but I’m finally at the place in my life where I am confident enough to know that I would have been somebody with or without ‘Drag Race,’” Pearl says.
According to Pearl, other queens told her they had similar experiences with RuPaul.
She also urged her supporters not to send hate to RuPaul and praised her for having a “wealth of knowledge.”
Watch below.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
