Trans actress Candis Cayne makes bold and powerful declaration at LA DragCon
Candis Cayne: “It’s not done, we have to get back to fighting.” (Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty)
Trailblazing trans actress Candis Cayne shared some really powerful and inspiring words when attending RuPaul’s LA DragCon 2024 recently.
The star-studded event is an annual expo of drag culture, described as a “convention that celebrates ‘the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all” – the first one was held in 2015.
52-year-old American actress and performance artist Cayne shared that she believes the LGBTQ+ community is in a new phase where the fight for queer rights is not done.
In a new interview at RuPaul’s LA DragCon 2024, Cayne noted: “It’s an interesting, scary time to be in a red state and living where we’re living, especially being part of the queer community.
“It’s so important we have to fight again, which is so weird. For a while there we thought we were done, we were like: ‘Oh, yeh it’s all going uphill.’
“But it’s not done, we have to get back to fighting.”
As the US election draws closer, the importance of LGBTQ+ rights can’t be understated. In recent years, queer rights have increasingly been under attack, with a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills from the restriction of gender-affirming care to restrictions on LGBTQ+ freedom in schools – so Cayne’s call to stand up and fight back is certainly not an empty suggestion.
Who is Candis Cayne?
Cayne rose to fame on the New York City drag scene in the 1990s.
She came out as trans in 1996 and began transitioning in the same year.
One early breakout role was in the 1995 movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, about three NYC drag queens who embark on a road trip. It was in the number one spot in the North American box office for two weeks with a worldwide gross of $47.8 million.
From 2007 to 2008, Cayne rose to national attention for playing trans mistress Carmelita, who had an affair with married New York Attorney General Patrick Darling (William Baldwin), on the prime-time drama Dirty Sexy Money.
It was a breakthrough role that saw her become the first transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character on primetime TV.
She has also starred in the likes of the fantasy show The Magicians and Nip/Tuck as well as appeared as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag U and a choreographer on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Besides acting, Canye has appeared in documentaries like Wigstock: The Movie, Drag Time and Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen.
At LA DragCon 2024, Cayne also spoke about her new Hulu series Candis Cayne’s Secret Garden.
The show is a gardening program like no other; Cayne welcomes viewers into her backyard and explores DIY projects, backyard makeovers, gardening tips and tricks, and inventive botanical cocktails.
In each episode, Cayne visits a new friend and aims to make their garden a green paradise and accessible to everyone. It sounds pretty darn heartwarming to us. Maybe garden makeovers are the real trans agenda.
