Drag Race Down Under queen issues grovelling apology for Blackface and cultural appropriation
Scarlet Adams in a promotional poster for RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. (World of Wonder)
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under contestant Scarlet Adams has issued a grovelling apology for performing in Blackface and engaging in cultural appropriation.
After Aboriginal drag queen Felicia Foxx shared a slew of photos of Adams wearing costumes that stole from and disrespected various cultures, the Drag Race contestant quickly suffered stinging criticism from fans.
“I apologise in advance as some of this content can be distressing, I deeply feel for every single culture that is disrespected in these pictures,” Foxx wrote in an Instagram caption.
“It makes me sick to my core to see numerous people in the LGBT+ community who are profiting off of making a mockery and disrespecting peoples cultures.”
“It makes me furious seeing my culture being dismantled, disregarded and s**t on,” she added.
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Foxx pointed to one image of Adams in Blackface “and with two blacked-out teeth on 26 January, Invasion Day”.
Otherwise known as Australia Day, the date marks when the British fleet landed in Australia in 1788. It has come to be viewed by many as a haunting reminder of the continent’s brutal colonization and oppression of Indigenous peoples.
The post prompted others to upload snaps of Adams wearing culturally insensitive and racist outfits during past performances.
Others direct messaged Foxx, alleging that Adams used derogatory terms against Aboriginal folk.
Drag Race Down Under star apologises for ‘stupid’ and ‘ignorant’ Blackface performance
This wasn’t the first time Adams has suffered criticism for these actions, and she responded to the latest wave of backlash by re-sharing a year-old apology on an Instagram highlight entitled “Atonement”.
Originally posted to Facebook in June 2020, Adams wrote in the post that use of Blackface when she was “young” was “ignorant” and “so f***ing stupid”.
“It’s important to show that those kinds of actions are condemnable and to bring it to the forefront of my feed during the current political climate,” she wrote, referencing Black Lives Matter.
“Yep, that happened and I won’t try to deny it.”
A second statement dated “2021” added: “In recent days, I have heard stories repeated about my past.
“Despite this being a story I am deeply ashamed of, and something I had tried to forget. I’ve come to realise in recent years that taking responsibility and admitting mistakes is an important learning experience.”
“There is no way to sugar-coat it, when I was a teenager roughly eight years ago I performed in Blackface/cultural appropriation,” she continued.
“I was young and I was ignorant. I am no longer that person.”
Adams added: “I know I will never understand what it’s like to be a person of colour. But I have been hurt before and to think that I made someone else feel that way is an unfathomable thing.”
In a lengthy, two-part apology, Scarlet Adams addressed photographs of her wearing Blackface and other problematic outfits. (Screen captures via Instagram/@ScarletAdamsDragQueen)
