RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Kylie Sonique Love has made a shocking claim that a “very famous celebrity” didn’t pay drag performers for a Pride event.
The All Stars 6 victor, who originally appeared on the show’s second season, said she was told there was no budget allocated to pay the artists in question.
Speaking to Matt Cullen in a video uploaded on 30 July, Kylie praised Miley Cyrus for the way she authentically supports the LGBTQ+ community.
The duo collaborated in a special 4 July performance in Las Vegas, where Miley brought Kylie out on stage.
The queen then explained why it’s so important for public figures to put their money where their mouth is when working with LGBTQ+ performers.
“I just worked with a very famous celebrity who during the Pride season did a whole Pride event and a concert but somehow didn’t have a budget for us,” Kylie explained.
“This summer especially, we’ve been fighting for our rights as drag performers and trans people to be able to continue living our lives and being able to work and I just thought it was a little odd to do all that. You’re worth half a billion dollars, and you didn’t have ten dollars at least for us?”
Drag is currently under attack in a number of US states, with many advancing legislation that would prevent drag performers from working in public spaces or anywhere minors could be present.
READ MORE: Drag is under attack – but these queens aren’t backing down anytime soon
Kylie went on to discuss that some promoters will ask for a free performance in exchange for “exposure”: “If you have the internet and Instagram, you’re already exposed. So people that say ‘oh this is for exposure’ – bitch, I am exposed. That’s why you asked me to be a part of your gig.”
Click here to watch the interview in full.