RuPaul: Facebook is ‘stripping the rights’ of drag performers
Drag artist RuPaul has condemned Facebook for “stripping the rights” of drag queens after a recent policy which bans users who don’t use their real names on their profiles.
The social networking site is currently enforcing a policy which only allows people to use their “real identities” on the website, and has recently locked the accounts of several drag artists for using their stage names.
Earlier this month, Facebook agreed to temporarily reinstate some drag performers’ profiles after a protest was planned against the move. However, the policy itself still remains unchanged, and Facebook has now given two weeks notice for users to adjust their profiles to display their legal name.
Now RuPaul has waded into the controversy, arguing that Facebook is “stripping the rights” of drag queens.
“In showbiz, there’s no such thing as bad publicity as long as they spell your name right,” RuPaul told The Hollywood Reporter. “But it’s bad policy when Facebook strips the rights of creative individuals who have blossomed into something even more fabulous than the name their mama gave them.”
Earlier this week, a Twitter account named the ‘Real Name Police’ which targeted drag performers on Facebook, calling on followers to report accounts to the social networking site which do not use legal names, returned once more after being shut down.
A petition set up by Seattle drag artist Olivia LaGarce has so far received over 32,000 signatures calling for the policy to change.
