When you look at RuPaul, you never would have thought he was made to be anything else but the world’s most famous drag queen. However, as a recently unearthed clip reveals, he came into the career that made him an icon by accident.

Oprah Winfrey recently shared a few clips from Ru’s 1995 appearance on her talk show on her OWN YouTube channel. By that time, Ru had already released his first album, Supermodel of the World, served as a spokesperson for MAC cosmetics, written his autobiography, and had cameos in Spike Lee’s Crooklyn, The Brady Bunch Movie and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. (Sorry if I made anyone feel old right there.)

When asked how he got into the business, Ru confessed, “I always wanted to be a star ever since I was a little drag queen growing up in Georgia.” He started out rocking a very punk aesthetic, even briefly fronting a punk band. But we’re not watching RuPaul’s Punk Rock Band Race, now are we? Ru was due for an image change. And, almost as a gag, he made a choice that changed his career. As he recalled to Oprah, “The drag thing, so, it really happened by accident. I was doing punk and I’d had a mohawk and I’d play with makeup and stuff. Then, some people on a lark said, ‘Why don’t you do drag and see what it looks like?’” He did, and definitely made the right call.

The change was not only beneficial professionally, but personally. Ru went on to say, “It’s a lot of fun. I think everybody ought to get in some type of drag… It brings out different aspects of your personality. And I think when you’re on this planet, in this lifetime, it’s important to try different things. Life is a banquet and most people are starving to death.” He quoted Auntie Mame. This is why I love him.

In another clip, Ru was asked for advice for kids struggling to be accepted and he had the perfect answer, one which still holds true today. “I say, ‘Listen. Find out what it is you have that makes you unique and special, and cultivate that. And bring that out and then bring that to the party.'” And, when asked for his personal formula for success, Ru said, “I think success is something between you and yourself. Only you know where you’ve come from and how far you want to go.”

I have never made it a secret how much I love RuPaul, and how much I adore him. He’s been an advocate and a powerful supporter for the LBGTQ community since he first came on the scene. These clips made me love him even more, which I never thought would be possible.

As for Drag Race, I want to take a moment to congratulate the season 9 winner, who, for the courtesy of those of you who may not have seen the finale yet (or have been living under a rock), I will not post the name of. I’ll reveal the winner in this clip where she finds out she won (they pre-tape the finale, filming all 4 final queens “winning” the title to avoid spoilers, so she didn’t know she won until the finale aired Friday night.) She wasn’t my first choice, but I think she might be the Drag Queen We Need Right Now. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she seems to share her mentor’s sentiments about the power of drag, stating,

I believe drag is a form of activism. It centers queer people and queer ways of being beautiful, especially in a political context where beauty is narrowly defined or what’s considered important or valuable is narrowly defined, and drag always offers a different option. I took for granted how much drag is still about play, and how playing and being light about your identity and yourself is actually a form of resistance, too.

[From Entertainment Weekly]

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