'RuPaul's Drag Race' casts its first cisgender straight man
After 14 years of being on the air, reality competition show RuPaul's Drag Race casts a straight, cisgender man in the form of contestant Maddy Morphosis.
During the cast reveal for the show last week, Maddy Morphosis was named as one of the 14 contestants vying for the Drag Race crown, which comes with a USD$100,000 cash prize.
The show has been steadily expanding its qualifications for drag queens that are allowed to compete on the show. Victoria Scone, who competed on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, was the first cisgender female to compete on any franchise of the show. In the latest season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, transgender female contestant Kylie Sonique Love became the first out trans woman to win the crown.
Maddy Morphosis will become the first contestant on any of the show's iterations to not be part of the LGBTQIA+ community, which has caused some intense debate among the show's fans, who view Drag Race as safe space for the community and see Maddy Morphosis as a straight man invading one of the few spaces exclusively for the community.
The intense debate has even prompted Maddy Morphosis to speak on it, posting his side on his Twitter account and stating that he is not in the program to show that “straight guys can do drag.” He also emphasized that straight men are not a persecuted or excluded group within the drag community.
-- ✨Maddy Morphosis✨ (@MaddyMorphosis) December 5, 2021
Maddy also received encouragement from her castmate on the 14th season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Kornbread “The Snack” Jete, who declared herself “team Maddy Morphosis.” Kornbread, along with Kerri Colby, is one of the two out trans women on the show's latest season.
I say this from the bottom of my heart to the top of my wig. I'm team @MaddyMorphosis in all ways.
-- Kornbread Jeté (@kornbreadTMFS) December 4, 2021
If you have an issue with them then you have an issue with me so please exit stage left and hit the unfollow button.
Respectfully. 🗣DAS MY BABY DADDY.
RuPaul's Drag Race has also had a number of Filipino queens compete on the show. Check them out in the gallery below.
