For the queens of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” drag means more to them than just a showcase of fun fashion. On the groundbreaking series, the contestants are given a platform and a freedom to express…
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
For the queens of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” drag means more to them than just a showcase of fun fashion. On the groundbreaking series, the contestants are given a platform and a freedom to express their identities freely and without judgement.
“Queer people are boiled down to a talking point where you have to have an opinion on queerness, and I think the power of the show is we are beamed into people’s lives, into their televisions, into their living rooms as people,” Season 14 contestant Bosco said. “They get to see our perspective, where we come from, our story, our successes, our failures, they get an entire person rather than just a yes or no, which I feel like queerness and transness especially is up for debate so often.”
Alongside Bosco, other Season 14 queens including Lady Camden, Angeria Paris VanMicheals and Daya Betty joined senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay for the Variety Streaming Room presented by VH1. Together, the group reminisced on their season together, discussed authentic queer representation and even revealed their favorite outfits. In one particular episode from Season 14 in which the queens spoke to their younger selves, Daya Betty recalls the intense emotions on set.
“I grew up in a small town as well, lots of conservative people, conservative minded, and I beat myself up a lot in my own brain,” Daya Betty explained. “Just because I knew I was queer, but I didn’t know how to express it or who to tell or how to connect with people about it. And as you go through your adult life, you tend to forget that kid inside of you. You forget that there’s that child that just wants to laugh and have fun and feel loved. So seeing that baby picture in RuPaul’s hands, it reminds you of that and the journey that you’ve went through. Not only on the show, but in your own queer identity.”
Lady Camden echoes Daya Betty’s sentiments, adding: “We all dread it because no one likes too much sincerity in drag, right? But it is an important moment even though it is uncomfortable to ugly cry in front of millions of people… It’s such a homecoming moment for so many of us because, I think I could speak for a lot of people that have been on Drag Race in that we did not have the level of freedom growing up as a kid that we have now because of drag… I don’t have to hide it when my parents come home or when the bullies are looking at school or whatever. I literally can do it and scream it from the rooftops.”
Watch the full conversation in the video above.
