Kevin Bacon shares powerful message about Drag Race in light of drag bans: ‘Drag is a right’
Kevin Bacon is a Drag Race stan, FYI. (Getty/Gary Gershoff/World of Wonder)
They/Them actor Kevin Bacon has condemned “discriminatory” anti-drag bans and urged his supporters to “join the fight” against them.
Bacon, 64, took to Instagram stories to share his love for the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which featured a dragged-up version of his musical drama Footloose, entitled Wigloose: The Rusical.
Running parallel to the Footloose plotline of fighting a dance ban imposed by the local town council, Wigloose: The Rusical told a story of drag being outlawed by bigoted politicians in a small town.
Despite being filmed in early 2022, the Drag Race episode has struck a particular chord with drag queens and queer fans following the introduction of the first US drag ban in Tennessee earlier this month.
The law prevents drag queens from performing in public or wherever they can be seen by a child.
“Big shoutout to @rupaulsdragrace’s Wigloose the Rusical,” Bacon wrote on Instagram, praising Drag Race queen Loosey LaDuca for her turn as the rusical’s lead character “Heaven Bacon”.
“With all the recent anti-drag bills, this came at just the right time. Drag is an art and drag is a right,” the Wild Things actor continued, before sharing a link to a video of RuPaul explaining how to combat the anti-drag laws.
Fans are thanking Bacon for using his platform to speak out for the LGBTQ+ community, with one writing: “Super happy Kevin Bacon said drag rights!”
Bacon joins a growing list of LGBTQ+ stars and allies who are coming forward in defence of drag and condemning the Republican efforts to ban drag.
Earlier this month, The Little Mermaid star Melissa McCarthy shared a post reminding people that drag characters have existed in mainstream media for decades, from Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire to John Cleese in Monty Python.
Drag queens themselves are ramping up efforts to combat the increasingly harmful rhetoric that drag is inherently inappropriate. Drag Race alumni including Jinkx Monsoon, BenDeLaCreme and The Vivienne have all gone on record to blast the fearmongering tactics employed by right-wing officials trying to enforce the bans.
Following Tennesse’s anti-drag bill passing, similar laws are currently progressing in states including Kentucky, Arizona and Texas.
In the UK, recent polling data shows that the vast majority of Brits would reject any attempt to have drag shows banned.
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