RuPaul Explained Why He Didn’t Wear Drag To The Met Gala
When the MET Gala happened last week I was off in the Canadian Rockies having my ears hammered with wrong sounding vowels (sorry, Allison) and sharing a thready wifi connection with a bunch of mountain loving nerds (sorry, my husband) so I had to play catch up once I got back to civilization (sorry, Canada. Universal healthcare < a decent burrito). I was so excited to see what Hollywood’s interpretation of the theme, Camp: Notes on Fashion, would be. Boy, was I disappointed when I learned that Thee Billy Porter was the only motherfucker in town who knew what time it was. What a bust. One big question on people’s mind was why didn’t RuPaul come in drag and school the girls with a freshman seminar on camp. Ru didn’t feel like it, okurrr?
Ru is arguably the world’s most recognizable name in drag, the one person who should have been able to nail the theme without batting an eye (can’t bat with 12 pounds of lashes), but he arrived in a suit looking like somebody left a stick of Fruit Stripe gum in his teleportation device. Which sounds campy as hell, but was actually quite subdued. Ru has an explanation for that. On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Ru explained that he thought all the men were going to come dressed as Divine, and he didn’t want to be like everybody else. I’m like, really Ru? You thought Kanye was going to roll up to the Met Gala in a bodycon sheath dress, with a shaved back hairline to accommodate his brows, padded like that little girl from the Quilted Northern commercial, munching on a Baby Ruth? I wish to fucking God he had!
But Ru said that’s not the only reason. He also said drag hurts and makes him mean. Here’s Ru explaining his choice, and naming Celine Dion’s underwhelming (to me) Ziegfeld Follies inspired look as his favorite of the evening (why were there so many showgirls, and so little Showgirls at the ball?!).
And here’s Celine’s look, in case you missed it.
I’ve got to say, Celine’s interview is way campier than her actual look. Sounds to me like Ru is pretty much over drag and looking to pivot from Glamazon to bitchy uncle. Which can be just as much fun, so bring it on. Maybe he can take over as the host of Jeopardy! when Alex Trebek retires.
Pic: YouTube