"From the gritty backdrop of a broken home to the glittering stage of drag, RuPaul's life story unfolds with breathtaking clarity and tenderness. It's a journey that traverses the complexities of growing up Black, poor, and queer, and the relentless pursuit of dreams in the face of adversity. RuPaul's life is a testament to the power of performance, the importance of found family, and the significance of self-acceptance. In this biography, we peel away the layers of artifice to reveal the unvarnished truth of his existence.
We share his early years as a queer Black child in San Diego, navigating the turbulent waters of family dynamics. He takes us into the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, where he forged his identity and found his voice. But this biography is more than a journey—it's a profound introspection into RuPaul's life, relationships, and identity. It's a self-portrait of a legendary icon who has not only scaled the heights of fame but has also transformed the way the world perceives drag."
RuPaul stirred multiple controversies regarding his comments and actions towards the transgender community. According to Vox, he has a complicated relationship with transgender people, in part due to differing philosophies: through drag he seeks to mock gender and identity stereotypes, while in his view the trans community takes identity seriously. However, RuPaul's Drag Race featured a number of trans women, some of whom made their identity public while competing on the show, including Sonique, Carmen Carrera, Jiggly Caliente, Monica Beverly Hillz, Kenya Michaels, and Gia Gunn.
In 2014, trans activists and former contestants Carmen Carrera and Monica Beverly Hillz criticized the show's use of words such as tranny and shemale, including the main challenge announcement phrase up to season 6, "You've got she-mail", which they described as transphobic. That year's season also included a "Female or She-male" segment that required contestants to guess whether various photographs featured cisgender "biological women" or "psychological women" (drag queens), causing further criticism. RuPaul and the producers issued a statement promising "to help spread love, acceptance and understanding" and Logo TV removed the controversial phrases. In 2018, RuPaul gave an interview to The Guardian in which he stated that a post-transition trans woman would "probably not" be accepted onto the show, noting that at the time of competition and Peppermint had not yet had breast implants.
After facing criticism on social media and from former contestants for his remarks, RuPaul compared trans drag queens who had transitioned to athletes who had taken performance-enhancing drugs. He subsequently expressed regret for the hurt caused by his remarks, and that the only screening criteria for contestants were "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent." Since he made these statements, multiple transgender contestants have competed on the show.
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