RuPaul’s Drag Race stars are uniting for a huge US drag march against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation
RuPaul’s Drag Race queens Honey Davenport and Kerri Colby are performing at Drag March LA. (Getty/ Walter McBride/Vivien Killilea)
RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni are uniting with dozens of LGBTQ+ organisations to stage a drag march in protest against anti-queer legislation sweeping the US.
Taking place in Los Angeles’ West Hollywood Park on Easter Sunday, 9 April, the demonstration will consist of performances by Drag Race stars Kerri Colby and Honey Davenport, alongside speeches from activists and local government officials.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center is hosting the march, billed Drag March LA, with the centre’s chief executive, Joe Hollendonor, describing it as a “nod to the origins of the LGBTQ+ movement”.
In a statement, he said: “It is no mistake that today’s drag bans are accompanied by a sweeping movement to ban access to gender-affirming care. We are fighting for our right to privacy, bodily autonomy, self-determination and freedom of expression.”
Several hundred bills have been introduced in states across the US in 2023 alone, many of which are aimed at outlawing public drag shows, removing LGBTQ+ content from schools and erasing trans people’s rights.
In an Instagram post, the Los Angeles LGBT Center declared that the community “will not stand by and watch” as equal rights are rolled back.
“There are over 400 pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation on the books,” the post reads. “If it wasn’t clear already, we hope it is now: this is a crucial moment for our community.”
Speakers at the event will include West Hollywood’s mayor, Sepi Shyne, and Los Angeles county supervisor, Lindsey Horvath.
Drag Race season 14 finalist Lady Camden will also be there, and in an Instagram post, the queen urged people to gather and let their voices be heard.
“I know that you agree with me when I say you deserve the right to love who you love and to do what you want with your body, and to have the right to self-expression in whatever way that is, including drag,” she said.
Fellow season 14 queen Colby has previously explained why the legislation will fail.
“People have been oppressed since anyone can remember. And history will show that it doesn’t work,” she exclusively told PinkNews. “They [try] to erase anything that makes them uncomfortable. And it doesn’t erase that. If anything, it just pisses us off. We’re not even looking to fight nobody.”
Season 11 queen Davenport has already denounced the politicians forcing anti-LGBTQ+ bills into law.
“Dear friends, if you’re sitting silent right now as these evil politicians pass laws that will destroy my ability to create and survive, with ultimate hopes of eradicating my community’s existence, if you have nothing at all to say about this, you do not and never have loved me,” she said.
Drag March LA begins at 10am local time and anyone wanting to attend is encouraged to sign up via Eventbrite.
