RuPaul's back on TV with a reality show called RuPaul's Drag Race on Logo. Yeah, I know I've griped for years about the lack of visibility of GLBT African-Americans in the media, but this is one show that I and many African-American GLBT peeps won't be watching.The reason? Many of us consider RuPaul a sellout.
RuPaul's road to Clarence Thomas-Condoleezza Rice territory basically began in 2002, when he started defending Chuck Knipp and his odious blackface minstrel show that many of us in the SGL community and our allies have major problems with.
When New York activists protested and succeeded in shutting down a 2002 show, RuPaul leaped to Chuck's defense.
RuPaul also had this to say when he appeared at Southern Decadence in New Orleans a few years ago.
"Critics who think that Shirley Q. Liquor is offensive are idiots. Listen, I've been discriminated against by everybody in the world: gay people, black people, whatever. I know discrimination, I know racism, I know it very intimately. She's not racist, and if she were, she wouldn't be on my new CD."
I'm a critic and a lot smarter than you are. Obviously your racism detector is way off and your ignorance of black history speaks volumes. It's also why that 'Foxy Lady' CD tanked. If you'd paid attention in history class, you'd know that your racist runnin' buddy does a blackface minstrel show that on multiple levels is offensive and racist. Hiding behind your short skirts won't shield him from the deserved criticism and negativity he gets for doing so.
RuPaul also said on a gay radio show,
“I love it. People really need to take a chill pill and people really aren’t sophisticated enough to know that when a person is coming from a place of love as opposed to coming from a place of hate. Shirley Q. Liquor is so clearly coming from a place of love.”
How much 'sophistication' was Chuck showing when he (or one of his cronies) photoshopped Jasmyne Cannick's head to the body of an nude African American porn model on his website because she successfully led the effort to shut down one of his California shows?
Did that come from a place of love? Hell, naw.
RuPaul, you can stop trying to defend Chuck. It's the reason many of us aren't enamored of you any more, and the sooner you realize that, the better.
But then again, like all good sellouts, you'll salute, take the money they offer you, continue to stab your people in the back and expect us to be quiet about it.
15 comments:
agreed, the Shirley Q Liquor things was a mess. I hope Ru thought about this as the years went by. It's hard to take Ru seriously anymore
It's obvious he hasn't. He's still putting his pumps in his mouth about this issue and now the 'tranny' dustup.
I would give anything to get as much attention as y'all give this whoever Chuck thing is. Is S/he one of us? What is s/her herstory?
We don't get RuPaul's show yet in New Zealand.. I have seen "snippets" on the web. pardon the pun girls.
Giorgina Glory,
Chuck is a white gay man.
Well personally I think Ru Paul needs to get on the bus with all of the other black people we need to get rid of. He is nothing but Flava flav in heels to me.
OK I googled the bitch and she IS and ugly MESS!! HAHA! I don't even think she COULD wear pumps! Her drag is what we call SHITE and her make-up.. is just.. GodAwful!!!
I am confused though. Is she a radio star or a performing drag queen star? She's not "trans" is she? (god forbid!!!)
She's in Rolling Stone and CNN and all that???? WHY???
What did she do to get so famous???
And that picture in your post? I am so confused! If anything that looks like maybe an obese Diana Ross???
The pictures of JasmyneCannick, she seems skinny and wears glasses!?
Help a sis understand!
Sorry to be so thick headed!
HUgs!
Giorgina Glory, as Monica mentioned earlier, Shirley Q. Liquor is the stage persona of Charles (Chuck) Knipp. He is a white gay man and doesn't identify as being trans. Rather, his SQL act is merely for the laughs he can get from his audience and the profits they pay him. Knipp's SQL act is highly offensive and I am amazed that he has been able to find an audience for it for several years. It should have been shut down long ago.
What a wonderful "home" to find on the web!! I have tried to go to Jasmine Cannicks site, but to be honest, her "forced music" knocks me off my chair sometimes and takes a while to load.
You lot seem simple (meaning "easy to talk with" way!)
@Renee
"Yeahhh boyyyyyyy, you bettah work."
Flavor Flav in heels.. Eeew.
I just lost my appetite when that visual assaulted my brain.
RuPaul needs to sashay-shanté it right out of trying to be some kind of symbol for transwomen (much less transwomen of color). Ru is, yes, a gay man (one with an interesting job, but that's about it), with a gay man's condescending attitudes towards transwomen. Don't need him, can't be bothered with him and intend to "chill" him right out of my consciousness.
Gina,
And I get so tired of the gay media using RuPaul as a spokesmodel for the AA transgender community when he ISN'T transgender.
FlavorFlav? In. Heels?
I need a cocktail for that.
*falls out*
Hi.
A friend turned me on to your blog and I saw you in the comments section over on Ms. Cannick's blog.
I just wanted to say I love your posts and I thank you for weighing in such important topics in the manner in which you do.
Keep doing your thing.
God bless you.
-Denny
Denny,
Glad you enjoyed the blog, my commentary and hope you become a regular visit to TransGriot.
My problem with the whole "But...but...you all are just too unsophisticated to know why such-and-such is funny!" argument is that such-and-such usually *isn't* very sophisticated, and if it *were* sophisticated, it probably wouldn't be offensive, *and* it would be funnier.
SQL is still centered around whiteness, maleness and cissexuality...so the "humor" is from people in power oppressing people who aren't in power. It would be far more sophisticated if the humor went the other way (a punch in the face of power).
I haven't seen anything redeeming in Shirley Q. Liquor, but I do think there was potential for good satire in the movie "Tropic Thunder," if the writers had thought harder and not centered their commentary on themselves. I think there is great potential for humor in Hollywood's tendency to cast non-disabled actors as disabled characters and the non-disabled actors to get huge accolades for it--when there are plenty of disabled actors who could do it, for instance. But "Tropic Thunder" took the easy way out and kept the power dynamic, but just exaggerated it. Which only makes sense if you understand that the power dynamic is messed up in the first place. (Otherwise, your audience thinks that, say, Archie Bunker is the paragon of rightness. Which some did).
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