RuPaul thinks trans contestants shouldn’t compete on the show after transitioning (Picture: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

Peppermint became the first out trans woman to enter RuPaul’s Drag Race, with many other queens now openly identifying as transgender.

But RuPaul isn’t sure about allowing those who have fully transitioned to enter the contest.

The 57-year-old has called the topic of trans drag queens ‘an interesting area’, saying that while you can identify as a woman and do drag, he isn’t sure you can do drag with a female body.

Speaking to the Guardian, RuPaul said: ‘Peppermint didn’t get breast implants until after she left our show; she was identifying as a woman, but she hadn’t really transitioned.’


Peppermint was out as a trans woman in season nine (Picture: John Lamparski/WireImage)

When asked whether he would accept a contestant who had transitioned, he said: ‘Probably not. You can identify as a woman and say you’re transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body.



‘It takes on a different thing; it changes the whole concept of what we’re doing.

‘We’ve had some girls who’ve had some injections in the face and maybe a little bit in the butt here and there, but they haven’t transitioned.’

RuPaul added that he believed drag loses its ‘danger’ when it’s not men doing it, saying: ‘At its core it’s a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture. So for men to do it, it’s really punk rock, because it’s a real rejection of masculinity.’

Peppermint entered the contest as an out trans woman, while Monica Beverly Hillz came out as trans on the main stage in season five.

Other queens who have since came out as transgender include Sonique, Carmen Carrera, Stacy Layne Matthews, Jiggly Caliente, Kenya Michaels and Gia Gunn.

Drag Race is about to start its tenth season, while it’s currently in the middle of its third All Stars series.

Update:

Taking to social media RuPaul later apologised for his comments: ‘Each morning I pray to set aside everything I THINK I know, so I may have an open mind and a new experience.

‘I understand and regret the hurt I have caused. The trans community are heroes of our shared LGBTQ movement. You are my teachers.’

He then went on to say that at no point had he or the team on Drag Race ever discriminated against anyone identifying as any gender: ‘In the 10 years we’ve been casting Drag Race, the only thing we’ve ever screened for is charisma uniqueness nerve and talent. And that will never change.’

MORE: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3’s latest eliminated queen: ‘I know I could have gone all the way’

MORE: No-one wishes they could go back in the closet: How to come out as LGBTQ positively and safely