Canada’s Drag Race vs the World star Cheryl explains why she dropped ‘Hole’ from her name
Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World star Cheryl has explained why she changed her name from ‘Cheryl Hole’. (World of Wonder/Crave)
Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs The World finalist Cheryl has explained the slightly depressing reason why she had to drop “Hole” from her drag name.
During her original appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s inaugural season in 2019, and then on Drag Race UK vs The World season one in 2022, the dancing diva of Essex was known as Cheryl Hole.
To any Brit who turned on a radio between 2002 and 2012, the name is very obviously a reference to Girls Aloud icon, former The X Factor judge, and L’Oréal aficionado, Cheryl Cole (also known as Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Cheryl Tweedy and now, much like the drag star, just Cheryl).
However, it turns out the Drag Race legend didn’t change her name to just Cheryl to reflect the pop singer’s decision to become just Cheryl.
Her decision to drop her surname came as a result of her appearance on Channel 4 cooking show, Celebrity MasterChef last summer.
“When I did a popular cooking show, when I did MasterChef, and people were coming after me for a name, whilst I was dressed as a 1950s housewife, I was like: ‘You all need to get a hobby’,” she told her fellow Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs The World season two finalist and friend, Lemon via Instagram Live.
Despite the TV programme having had drag stars compete in the past – including Cheryl’s Drag Race UK season one sister Baga Chipz and Global All Stars favourite Kitty Scott-Claus – Cheryl copped an unusual amount of social media backlash over her appearance.
During the height of the anti-drag attacks last year, bigoted viewers were unimpressed with seeing a drag queen using a kitchen utensil on the telly, and decided that her surname “Hole” was sexual and therefore inappropriate.
Though she managed to defend herself from an onslaught of online hate, she decided on dropping “Hole” for future TV appearances. Yet she knows that to her true fans, she will always be Cheryl Hole.
“I just felt like I will always be Cheryl Hole to those that love and adore and appreciate what I do but for this time, I’m just Cheryl,” she said.
After Lemon suggested that Cheryl was now “giving PG-13, we’re giving family friendly,” via her drag, Cheryl laughed at the irony of the situation, given that she as a queen is not particularly sexual.
“That’s the tea. Of all the f**king queens out there, I am one of the most PG, family friendly, family acceptable. But I am the problem because of a name? I’m like, your dirty minds are going there, you TERF-y tw*ts,” she said.
Lemon concurred: “It’s just Cheryl Hole like Cheryl Cole, it’s not sharing a hole. That’s not a thing,” with Cheryl then throwing the backlash back at her haters, saying: “If your mind goes there, there’s something up with you.”
The finale of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs The World season two will see Cheryl, Lemon, and Drag Race favourites Alexis Mateo and Kennedy Davenport compete for the crown.
It will air on BBC Three from Saturday 24 August in the UK, and on Crave on Friday 23 August in Canada.
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