Drag Race queen quits tour over ‘problematic’ queen’s ‘racist acts’
Etcetera Etcetera attends the premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under at Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. (Caroline McCredie/Getty)
Aussie queen Etcetera Etcetera has pulled out of the Drag Race Down Under tour over the past racism of a “problematic artist.”
She made the announcement on Thursday (17 August) in a Twitter statement where she claimed her issues were “less about the individual – and more about a multimillion-dollar company” that she claimed continues to “put queer communities in harm’s way.”
“I believe drag artists should act in solidarity with marginalised communities and not stand by when a problematic artist continues to get cast for huge opportunities,” Etcetera Etcetera wrote.
While the star did not disclose which artist she was referring to, she says she told the multimedia creative agency Voss Events that if they were employed, she would refuse to participate in the tour.
“They made the choice to ignore the concerns of myself and other cast members,” she continued.
“I don’t believe someone who performed racist acts for years – even after being called out – should be given a paid spot at EVERY show on a national tour,” she continued.
a note about the upcoming drdu tour. pic.twitter.com/XrRjRB2Dht
— etcetera ɐɹǝʇǝɔʇǝ (@glamourbug) August 17, 2022
Multimedia creative agency Voss Events announced that the official tour of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under (DRDU) would feature several stars from seasons one and two of the spin-off, including Art Simone, Anita Wigl’it, Coco Jumbo, and Elektra Shock.
Etcetera Etcetera added that she didn’t make the decision alone, saying: “I made the choice after [an] in-depth conversation and consultation with [the] community and artists of colour.
She apologised to those who were “looking forward to seeing me on tour” but reemphasised that she couldn’t continue on the tour “with a clear conscience.”
The queen also urged social media users not to send “hate to anyone else involved with the tour,” according to Star Observer.
“I am acting based on concerns expressed by people of colour close to me and also from my own experience with those involved. Everyone is entitled to make their own choices, this happens to be mine,” she said.
Etcetera Etcetera attends RuPaul’s DragCon at Los Angeles Convention Center on May 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/WireImage)
This isn’t the first time that Drag Race Down Under has been embroiled in a racism scandal.
In 2021, contestant Scarlet Adams apologised after it was revealed she had performed in blackface.
Aboriginal drag queen Felicia Foxx shared several images of Adams on her Instagram in racially insensitive outfits, saying: “MY CULTURE IS NOT A COSTUME!”
“It makes me sick to my core to see numerous people in the LGBTQ+ community who are profiting off of making a mockery and disrespecting people’s cultures,” Foxx wrote at the time.
“It makes me furious seeing my culture being dismantled, disregarded and s**t on,” she said. “I fully understand that people make mistakes and grow from them but once you continue to take the p**s out of numerous cultures on various occasions after you’ve been called out it is concerning and downright vulgar.”
Adams apologised, saying: “Despite this being a story I am deeply ashamed of and something I had tried to forget. I’ve come to realise in recent years that taking responsibility and admitting mistakes is an important learning experience.”
“There is no way to sugar-coat it, when I was a teenager roughly eight years ago I performed in Blackface/cultural appropriation,” she continued. “I was young and I was ignorant. I am no longer that person.”
Scarlett Adams is part of the cast of the Drag Race Down Under tour, starting on 28 September in Sydney at the Hordern Pavilion.
PinkNews has reached out to Voss Events for comment.
