Drag Race stars demand fans stop using their ‘government’ names: ‘Keep it out your f**king mouth’
Drag Race queens have voiced their thoughts on fans calling them by their ‘government names’. (TikTok, Karwai Tang/WireImage/@stephaniesbutt)
A wave of RuPaul’s Drag Race queens have urged fans not to call them by their ‘government names’ following a series of viral TikToks from Canada’s Drag Race contestant Stephanie Prince.
The three viral videos, which have a combined 16.4 million views feature Stephanie Prince at DragCon UK 2023, calling Drag Race contestants from various iterations of the franchise by their legal ‘government’ names.
Winners and competitors featured in the videos include Lemon, Jaida Essence Hall, Vanity Milan, Lady Camden, Icesis Couture and more.
However, many queens have spoken out on social media condemning the use of a drag queen’s ‘government names’ for a variety of reasons.
Victoria Scone, who reached the finale of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs The World, a recent season in which Stephanie was eliminated second, shared on Twitter that she was called by her “government name” at the stage door of Death Drop: Back in the Habit.
Clarifying that her post was “not a rant”, Scone wrote: “At stage door last night a fan called me by that name & I’m not sure why. Perhaps I’ve never publicly said so i’m saying it now: I go by Vic out of drag. All friends, colleagues & even my partner calls me Vic.”
She continued by confirming that Stephanie checked with Victoria’s fiancé, Dani, whether she would be comfortable with participating in the TikToks at DragCon UK, though she can “only appreciate that as an individual situation”.
Victoria’s original tweet was retweeted by fellow Drag Race UK season three competitor River Medway, and season four queen Pixie Polite tweeted a gif of Will Smith with the caption: “Keep my government name, out your f*ckin mouth.”
Veronica Green called out Stephanie’s TikToks directly, replying to Victoria’s tweet by writing: “I’m betting that lovely viral video has something to do with this. If you EVER call me my out of drag name when you see me IN drag, I guarantee you will regret it.”
Silky Nutmeg Ganache – another finalist of Canada vs The World – echoed Victoria’s sentiment, writing that she is in the process of legally changing her ‘government name’.
“No one including my mother have the permission to call me that.”
A fan replied to Silky attempting to defend Stephanie’s TikToks, to which Silky wrote that while she appreciated the Canadian queen’s request for consent, she also pointed out the problem with videos with the trend going viral.
“She asked for consent. I respect that. I want everyone else to know to not try me. We tend to mimic things we see.”
Fans have further added in their thoughts on the usage of ‘government names’, adding that for some performers who may have transitioned, “not only is it extremely disrespectful but for some it is their ‘dead name’.”
A ‘dead name’ refers to the birth name of a transgender individual who has since changed their name as part of their transition.
Stephanie has thus far only addressed the debate by tweeting: “Not me being the controversial queen. AGAIN!”
Multiple queens such as Victoria and Silky have confirmed that Stephanie did ask consent to film the video, and her caption for the third TikTok reads: “Everyone included in these videos (Part 1, 2 & 3) were willing and gave consent! Also, don’t ever come up to a queen and do this!”
A reminder for any fans tempted to try the trend out – as Lemon so eloquently replies to Stephanie: “Please don’t call me that b***h, I don’t know you like that.”
