Monét X Change and Nina West helped Meghan McCain celebrate her 35th birthday. (The View)
Drag Race favourites Monet X Change and Nina West have come under fire for helping Republican pundit Meghan McCain celebrate her 35th birthday.
Nina and Monet made an appearance on US panel show The View – an American Loose Women of sorts – as part of McCain’s birthday celebrations.
After being welcomed on by McCain’s co-host Whoopi Goldberg, the pair handed McCain a pair of sequinned pink boots and a RuPaul statuette, proclaiming her “an official Ru girl”.
McCain is a divisive figure among the LGBT+ community.
While she has made several statements in support of LGBT+ rights and is on GLAAD’s board of directors, she is married to the co-founder and publisher of The Federalist, a website which has accused parents of “manipulating” children “into gender transition” and has called for puberty blockers – a reversible treatment which gives gender-questioning young people more time to consider their identity – to be made illegal.
Online, critics pointed out the dissonance between Drag Race‘s inclusive(-ish) mantra and McCain association with The Federalist.
Meghan McCain is married to a guy who runs a website that regularly publishes anti-trans rhetoric that actively endangers several of the queens who have been on the show but ok https://t.co/qZAWSdg9VG
— Will Kellogg (@Will_Kellogg) October 23, 2019
Yes it is relevant that Meghan McCain’s husband is a transphobe. If the idea is that she’s changing conservatives’ minds about LGBTQ people, she hasn’t even accomplished this task in her own home and clearly tolerates this.
— cancel ghoulture (@kamilumin) October 24, 2019
Drag Race queens: “Meghan McCain likes gay people, let’s use our platform to celebrate her on national daytime television!”
Meghan McCain’s husband’s website The Federalist: pic.twitter.com/W1rIF56ND6
— Er!c (@ericthulhu) October 24, 2019
drag race, and it’s competitors, will talk about drag as a ‘radical queer art form’ and preach about all their activism, then turn around and lick the boots of renowned fascist meghan mccain, who is wearing them like [email protected] props to cover the stink of her other fascist views. https://t.co/Y21iNTxWfU
— GOAT BASTARD (@EMPRESSTWEETSZS) October 24, 2019
I’m just so disappointed In everything drag race is doing. Sending queens to support Meghan McCain? Giving celebrities a makeover but not even letting AFAB/non-binary/trans women compete? Not to mention the hosts complete lack of respect for the queens. Do better.
— Homo Spice (@sogay77) October 24, 2019
All Stars 2 runner-up Katya summed up her disappointment in a single word.
Gross https://t.co/navSlS3ajr
— Katya (@katya_zamo) October 24, 2019
RuPaul under fire for Celebrity Drag Race.
Both Monet X Change and Nina West are set to return to the Drag Race franchise next year for RuPaul’s Celebrity Drag Race.
Announced on Wednesday, October 23, the spin-off will see 10 queens make-over a cast of famous faces.
The show’s announcements received a mixed response, with some attacking the decision to “let a bunch of cis-gendered straight men onto Drag Race before hyper queens, trans women, drag kings, and non-binary performers, simply because they’re celebrities”.
rupaul is about to let a bunch of cis gendered straight men onto drag race before hyper queens, trans women, drag kings, and non-binary performers, simply because they’re “celebrities” wheewwww
— sock boy (@cantreadorwrite) October 24, 2019
Can’t wait to watch straight men get into Drag for Celebrity Drag Race while non-binary, trans people still get outcasted and ignored by the show #EverybodySayLOVE
— Valdemar Creador (@valcreador) October 23, 2019
@RuPaulsDragRace: discriminates against transsexuals who do drag for over a decade now
Also RuPaul’s Drag Race: celebrates straight celebrities for doing the same thing
I’m so disgusted. 🤢🤮
— Sara Andrews (@MissSaraAndrews) October 23, 2019
Along with Nina and Monet, Celebrity Drag Race will feature Alyssa Edwards, Asia O’Hara, Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi, Monique Heart, Trinity the Tuck, Trixie Mattel and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.