RuPaul Charles

I lost all respect for RuPaul when he started directing porn for Michael Lucas.

When was that?

His career was really in a funk after his success in the 90s until he started Drag Race in 2009 which has brought him to a brand new level of success and wealth. Really he is the big winner from the show.

I have a lot of respect for RuPaul, he really has fought the fight and was out there making a name for himself in the industry when it wasn't easy.

This show stopped being decent after season 6

You’ve got to hand it to her... because of her show, dozens of queens are on the map and making big bucks.

Bianca Del Rio is doing international tours, for example. Also she did a full length movie.

Anyone who does his show becomes an instant star and can make big money.

Has anyone met him?

r2....mid 2000s....2005-2006ish

Haw Lypsinka been on his show?

Yeah, being on Rus show really completely changes the lives of these queens r6. They go from barely making any money in their local nightclub to being booked for real cash all over the world. The power of his platform is real and it has empowered so many queer artists.

She was Star Booty at Wigstock before she transformed to RuPaul. She performed under that name for several Wigstocks. Then her big hit, Supermodel, and a terrific album. Subsequent albums not as great, but fun. She was terrific on WKTU morning radio as a DJ and had a terrific talk show. Then the doldrums before Drag Race.

Do the girls have to give a cut of their bookings to the show? I thought saw that somewhere.

But I’m guessing just a management fee, like maybe 15%?

Keep the tea coming.

R9 “empowered so many queer artists” they are fucking drag queens you wanna be woke frau.

God I hate that shit. “Queer artists” fuck me.

Do you ever get sick of calling everyone who upsets you frau? God that shit is played out.

R11, I'm a big fan of the show and have been following some of the queens on SM for years. I've never heard of them having to pay the show (World of Wonder productions) any portions of earnings made outside of the show.

I can't imagine how the show could enforce that type of contract if they wanted to since the drag queen "characters" belong to each queen. For example, "Courtney Act" belongs to Shane Janek and "she" was created years before Courtney appeared on Drag Race.

Unlike, for example, Saturday Night Live, where the show (Lorne Michaels) owns the characters that are created on the show.

R13 Fuck up frau

Just don't let her do her own makeup. Or wigs. Or styling.

Anyone who uses ‘queer artists’ for a fucking drag queen is the one who is played out, you dumb cunt.

Moesha Moesha Moesha!

Nobody likes my threads :(

[quote] Nobody likes my threads :(

It's okay, gurl. Go out and dance!

Ru looked rough and wasted when Drag Race started. He looked il. He has since turned that around, god bless.

Anybody know what kind of money he is bringing in?

R12, I too am tired of seeing “queer” everywhere.

I remember seeing Ru Paul perform at Boy Bar in NYC in the 80's, not as refined then, also looked like he made his own costumes.

Still can’t believe that giant woman comes out of that tiny man; that IS how they like to play it up. If you WERE trying to meet him, I’d imagine seeking out fashion industry contacts would make the most sense. Just TRY and imagine that wardrobe bunker, Goils!

I saw him live out of drag do a tribute to Joan Rivers at the Kennedy Center. He was very well spoken and looked handsome. I am not a huge fan of his, never seen her show, but I respect him a lot from that.

I met Ru a few times. Very media savvy. Is always on brand. He has a way of looking at you so you think he is listening intently but he always looks like he is writing the answer in his head. If you can engage him in conversation outside of drag or drag race - you can get him to drop the wall.

So what happened around the fourth season when they had to take a break in taping and send everyone home only to complete the season after Ru was feeling better? She was very gaunt and looks much better now.

[quote]Anybody know what kind of money he is bringing in?

Last I heard, which was before the move to VH1, he was getting about 50k per episode - plus he owns a piece of the show (and Drag Race Thailand). Then there's Skin Wars - which he appears on and is a producer, Drag Con, royalties from the music that appears on the show and its offshoot tours....I would also guess he gets paid for the major tours (Battle of the Seasons, Werq the World) to use the Drag Race Brand. Then there's World of Wonder, which now produces dozens of You-Tube shows. I'm sure he gets a piece of that as well. He also married money. His husband owns a ranch in Wyoming. He's on record as saying he doesn't get in drag for less than 0k. Not bad for a club kid!

R30 here. Missed a digit - 50k not 0k to get Ru to put on a dress.

I saw him once, finishing up a hike at the crack of dawn at Runyon Canyon. He is definitely an early bird.

Does he have aids? Very thin.

I used to see him dancing on the speakers and performing around Atlanta in the mid 80’s: 688, Weekends, Club Rio. I met him a few times but very briefly. He was always pleasant and seemed alert and intelligent, like he was studying the room. He had a band called Wee Wee Pole for a while.

Once he showed up at an after party but I don’t remember him doing drugs like everyone else. Maybe too smart for that, but I really don’t know!

r33 Not that I know of. He is very private so if he did he would probably not say. He can be a cold bitch. When Mattheu Anderson wanted more money the production fired him. He is sick now and asked if Ru would come visit him, Ru, so far has not. William had a very public screaming match with Ru about that.

The rumor back in 2010 was that he'd had a heart attack, but that was from Perez Hilton if I'm not mistaken and who knows how accurate it was.

Here's an article at Reality Blurred that contains a copy of the World of Wonder contract that was in effect for Season 8. WOW basically owns the queens for two years after their last episode airs.

You can add the new CBS show ‘World’s Best’ to the list, and it looks like Drag Race is going to the U.K.

So that’s two more checks coming in. I wonder what kind of money the husbear is bringing in. Not sure what kind of dough we are talking here.

R37 Holy fuck, thanks for posting that. So, basically slaves for 2 years after their episode airs.

Producers own the rights and “proceeds” for anything the queens do on the show, which includes characters, songs, and anything they say about themselves (“elements of my life story”). Fuck that right there.

They have to supply their own food and drink during filming? I'm not even done reading, and that right there did me in. How much money is VH1 making off of this show now? Come on. Also you have to sign the contract before you even submit your application.

Well that's as warm and fuzzy as you's imagine R37. Rupaul's success is admirable especially in making drag mainstream, but the old joke about if you can fake sincerity you've got it made is perfect for him. His cod psychology /new age hippie stuff gets tough to swallow and the proud tears of a mother are very phony. Last week he got choked up with non existent tears while speaking of his motherly pride to contestants he couldn't name if his life depended on it and it was his worst display yet. All showbiz is phony but cover your tracks at least.

[quote]You can add the new CBS show ‘World’s Best’ to the list, and it looks like Drag Race is going to the U.K.

In addition to [italic]Drag Race Thailand[/italic] and the upcoming [italic]Drag Race UK,[/italic] there's [italic]The Switch Drag Race: El Arte del Transformismo,[/italic] the Chilean edition of the show. The format consists of an Artistic Challenge (make over yourself, another queen, or a guest as a celebrity), Imitation Challenge (lip-sync, act, or sing as the same celebrity), Singing Challenge, and Elimination Duel (also live singing). Gia Gunn and Kandy Ho both appeared on Season 2, which had a twist with Spanish-speaking queens from around the world.

The Latin queens are super-messy, and there's even been a physical fight. Gia Gunn ("Jeea Goon") made national news in Chile for being a huge cunt to the other queens and the crew. Valentina would be [italic]perfect[/italic] for this.

That article on the contact contradicts itself all over the place.

Ru is ambitious as fuck but doesn't realize how dopey he seems spouting his New Agey gibberish. I wish he'd lay off that foolishness.

He is constantly marketing himself. If you have watched RPDR you can see the pattern when his quips in one season become the song in next season "Hey Kitty Gurl..." "If they ain't paying your bills pay them bitches no mind" etc.

I adored him as Mrs. Cummings.

I would enjoy Drag Race with a whole new panel of judges. Alaska or Biana hosting. The judging panel with one of 3 rotating guest Queens, a real female fashionista under 40 and some cute gay dude as bright as Carson Daly. Could be anyone. Kenan, Colton, Gus or Adam Rippon. RuPaul is old, the format if old and too fixed. The puns are tiresome, the written scenes are terrible and the original music is dreck. Keep the eclectic and sometimes wacky guest judges though. Jush up and modernize the rest. Keep old school queens by all means and give them their due. Bring back design challenges, best photo/media challenges and more stage performance opportunities as part of the competition. Keep snatch game and one comedy challenge. I don't like RuPaul. Sorry, not sorry.

How has Bill Kaulitz not received an invite to guest-judge yet? He’s been doing drag since he was a little baby Berliner.

Maybe he’ll get on the UK one, they used to like Tokio Hotel (his band) in England.

RuPaul has never allowed any other drag queen to sit on the judging panel. Not even Lady Bunny.

I honestly do not know one, single, solitary person who watches his drag program, and I live in NYC and know a lot of people. A few years back, I was at a party and I remember someone (if I recall, a woman) asking if everyone watched Drag Race and everybody there (a mix of mostly gay guys and a few women) looked at her as if she'd lost her mind.

Why all the unnecessary detail R49? Your silly post made me laugh. Is so much exposition required to declare that you've never watched Drag Race?