"I've won fourteen Emmys. And you would think I'd have been on the cover of Ebony, if that still exists. I don't represent what the Black community wants to lift up. I never have."
That's not why black people don't like you. Unbelievable.
I agree with you but at the same time see where he's coming from, especially from his generation (where people got disowned for being queer and were thought to be from the Devil and used the Bible to treat their children like shit). While things are somewhat better and folks more educated about LGBT he comes from Ball/Aternative NYC culture and the reason why there were "Houses" and "Families" was because so many literally got kicked out of their homes for being who they were.
I don't expect you to agree with me; just offering another perspective.
It reminds me of how little BET supported Lil Nas X because of how open he is with his sexuality that they didn't bother inviting him to their award show, but did invite the white artist that was featured on his album
i should clarify i'm not talking about the homophobia, like yes obviously homophobia is a thing but even LGBTQ+ and allied black people don't like him because he deals in stereotypes, "fuck you i get mine", and pandering as much as someone in his position can
I see him similar to Oprah - they got tremendously rich off of a predominantly white audience, then did very little to uplift their own communities.
Oprah started a school in South Africa? What about helping South Side Chicago???
I think Ru could do a million small things to make the world a better place for Black queer people, or anyone else, but he seems to think that having the show is enough? As if representation in an extremely niche tv slot is doing more than preaching to the choir?
Even if Ru would put a QR code to a charity at the end of the season, that would be more than the extremely lame "Register to vote!" campaign that they have the girls hold up signs for on some episodes.
IA. There are definitely homophobic elements among Black people and I see where he's coming from with is comments. At the same time, it is tiresome when mainstream publications paint the Black community as uniquely homophobic and let other groups off the hook (e.g., white evangelicals).
Also, the Ebony comment...hmmm. There have been a few Black stars who have complained about being ignored by Black publications and people who work for those publications have said "We reached out to XYZ's people [a team of mostly white folks!], but they refused to give us an interview because they wanted to maintain a star's 'mainstream' appeal." Drag Race is full of white and non-Black queens and judges using AAVE and slang to disrespect Black contestants and RuPaul is very sus for not shutting that down. I'm going to read the whole interview, but I seriously doubt there is any examination of whether Ru has used his Blackness to ingratiate himself with white people and distance himself from Black folks in the industry.
He's talking about EBONY, who has profiled and put on covers many MANY LGBTQ+ people and talked about homophobia and transphobia in the black community constantly. Ebony's history regarding gay issues isn't great to be sure (However Jet magazine's was better because it was a news magazine and not a lifestyle magazine), but up until the late 50s they were covering ball/drag culture, stopped when the dominant discourse was medicalizing gay people, and then restarted again after the AIDS crisis with a strong statement on how homosexuality is natural and not a "white man's invention". It's disingenuous for him to malign such an important magazine because it didn't put HIM on a cover (when they've given him accolades constantly).
That's not why black people don't like you. Unbelievable.
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I don't expect you to agree with me; just offering another perspective.
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Oprah started a school in South Africa? What about helping South Side Chicago???
I think Ru could do a million small things to make the world a better place for Black queer people, or anyone else, but he seems to think that having the show is enough? As if representation in an extremely niche tv slot is doing more than preaching to the choir?
Even if Ru would put a QR code to a charity at the end of the season, that would be more than the extremely lame "Register to vote!" campaign that they have the girls hold up signs for on some episodes.
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Also, the Ebony comment...hmmm. There have been a few Black stars who have complained about being ignored by Black publications and people who work for those publications have said "We reached out to XYZ's people [a team of mostly white folks!], but they refused to give us an interview because they wanted to maintain a star's 'mainstream' appeal." Drag Race is full of white and non-Black queens and judges using AAVE and slang to disrespect Black contestants and RuPaul is very sus for not shutting that down. I'm going to read the whole interview, but I seriously doubt there is any examination of whether Ru has used his Blackness to ingratiate himself with white people and distance himself from Black folks in the industry.
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