RuPaul: ‘Fringe people’ are upset by transphobic slurs, not real trans people
RuPaul Charles has defended his use of transphobic slurs on RuPaul’s Drag Race, claiming only “fringe people” were offended and not the trans community.
The drag competition reality show had in March attracted criticism for a segment in which contestants were asked to guess from a photo whether someone was a ‘biological’ or ‘psychological’ woman, using a slur.
Following the criticism, TV network Logo decided to pull the episode off all platforms, and committed to not use two slurs in future episodes.
However, the drag artist has now claimed that it wasn’t trans people who were upset by the incident, while appearing on the WTF podcast.
He said: “No, it’s not the transsexual community (…) these are fringe people who are looking for story lines to strengthen their identity as victims. That is what we’re dealing with.
“It’s not the trans community, because most people who are trans have been through hell and high water and they know — they’ve looked behind the curtain at Oz and went, ‘Oh, this is all a f***ing joke.
“But, some people haven’t, and they’ve used their victimhood to create a situation.
“If your idea of happiness has to do with someone else changing what they say, what they do, you are in for a f***ing hard-ass road.
“I believe that everybody, you can be whatever the hell you wanna be. I ain’t stopping you.
“But don’t you dare tell me what I can do or say. It’s just words. You know what? Bitch, you need to get stronger.
“You really do, because you know what, if you’re upset by something I said, you have bigger problems than you think.
“A lot of people are going to get upset about this, but we have established this is all the joke.”
A statement signed by RuPaul had previously said: “When it comes to the movement of our trans sisters and trans brothers, we are newly sensitized and more committed than ever to help spread love, acceptance and understanding.”
Listen to the clip below:
Watch the original segment via Slate.com below:
